Spark to Heart
by Invader Kathy Starsky
Summary: Zettabyte has had an interest for humanity. But what happens when he becomes human and experiences human culture up close and personal? As he navigates through his new human life, he discovers that there are great mysteries. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing as the fight between Bots and Cons takes a turn for the worse. Will Zetta be able to become Cybertronian again in time?
1. Chapter 1

Spark to Heart

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

Warning: Violence and a few adult themes.

 **(blah)** -text

Chapter 1: New Body, Same Soul

 _At a CVS in Salt Lake City, Utah; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte tapped his holoform's foot patiently, shopping basket hanging on one arm while he checked to make sure he had enough money in the wallet Sasha allowed him to borrow.

A few days ago, he had confronted his partner about his desire to be of service to the humans around him, regardless of the fact that he could never truly know who or what he was.

Touched by her guardians desire to aid the people and understanding his need to be useful should he encounter an emergency, the raven-haired girl had given him some money that morning so he could purchase medical items and first aid kit materials. Thankfully, it was a Friday, meaning that the mechling would have plenty of time to shop while his friend was busy with her own agenda. And it didn't hurt that her Sawyer friend gave her rides.

"Don't be afraid to socialize while you work," the Goth had said sincerely before leaving for school.

The Cybertronian youth would have happily socialized, but unfortunately, it was easier said than done. Most of the humans he came across seemed to be too focused on other things to hold a proper conversation with him. The only ones who weren't occupied were human girl about Sasha's age or older and elderly humans who loved having a young companion to talk with.

Sadly, the teen girls were only interested in talking with him either because they found him incredibly attractive or because they thought he was the right type of "guy" that their fathers wouldn't be pleased with. The elderly, while they were very vocal, sometimes got off track during conversation and started talking about other things.

 _Still, it's better than nothing,_ the neutral youth thought.

He turned his holoform's head downwards to see a small boy, no older than three most likely, with curly brown hair and blue eyes staring at him. As soon as their gazes connected, the young boy's eyes widened and he grinned.

He tugged at his mother's arm and pointed at the halfa, "Mommy, that man has green eyes like a cat. And his hair matches."

"Now Henry, we don't point at people," his mother, a thirty-something woman with straight brown hair and eyes lectured softly before smiling apologetically at Zetta. "I'm sorry."

"No it's okay. I said a few things myself when I was his age," Zettabyte smiled with a chuckle.

Nodding in understanding, the woman then sighed, "I wish this line would be shorter already. I need to get home to finish those fleece scarves for my daughters. It's gonna get really cold soon."

At the mention of fabric, the neutral youth thought back on the fabric-like material he discovered just a week ago. He had come to the conclusion that the material had belonged to whoever owned the room before him. While he was tempted to ask Clockwork if he knew who use to inhabit the room, he knew it probably wouldn't be appropriate. Surely if the mech had restrictions, being the spirit of time. And even if there weren't, the halfa had a hunch that the older mech would be cryptic about the answer. Clockwork just had that air of complexity and wisdom about himself.

His train of thought was broken by a shrill scream and several alarmed gasps.

Looking up, his holoform's emerald eyes widened in shock and horror.

Two people, a man and woman were at the front of the line. The man, who was dressed in dark clothing with a hoodie covering his face, was pointing a gun at the four people behind the counter. The hand holding the weapon had a skull tattoo on it. The woman, who was wearing a mask but very skimpy clothing despite the cold, windy weather outside the Rite Aid, had dark hair and pale skin. The mask resembled a porcelain doll but with no makeup. Everyone who had been standing in their respective lines or near the counter had run to hide from the armed robbers.

"Give me all the money from cash registers you got here or I'll start putting bullets in the brains of everyone here. And that would be bad for business," the man growled in a voice that sounded as though he had gotten a cold or had been smoking for some time.

As the people behind the counter, an elderly man, two young men, and a young women, began going to retrieve money from the nearby registers, Zetta tried to think quickly. What could he do? He looked around before his gaze fell onto something on the chip stand near him.

It was baseball.

No doubt that it was left there by someone who was considering on buying it but then decided not to. And for some reason or another, they decided to place it on the stand rather than put it back where they found it.

Slowly, Zetta set his basket down and grabbed the ball. Making sure that neither of the robbers were looking his way and that he had a clear view of the man's head, the "teen boy" reeled his arm back and hurled it at the man's head.

Sure enough, the ball beaned the robber hard in the back the head, eliciting a grunt of pain with a hard _thunk_. The pain wasn't enough to cause the man to fall unconscious, but it was enough for him to drop his gun and moan in agony. The young woman, who was of Hawaiian heritage, behind the counter pulled out a spray can of what was either mace or pepper spray and sprayed the contents into the man's face. The robber howled as some of the stinging particles made contact with his eyes, despite the hoodie.

His female counterpart made a dive for the gun but never made it. A woman, who looked to be about in her late twenties or early thirties, rushed over, grabbed the masked woman's scraggly dark hair and gave a hard yank. The masked robber yowled in pain, no doubt the combination of the hair pull and the whiplash the customer had given her. The woman glared at the delinquent with icy blue eyes before ripping off the mask and throwing it behind her. The robber's skin was pale and unattractive unlike the soft-looking fair skin of the customer. The customer's skin went wonderfully with her hair which was as black as night. She proceeded to slap and scratch and the female would-be-thief's face, scratching it as she did. All the while, the female criminal was screaming and begging for her to stop as she tried to yank her hair out of her hostage-turned-captor's amazingly strong grip.

Zettabyte was utterly astounded by the female customer's strength and will. He saw that everyone, the customers and the employees, were staring in awe as well. And that's when he noticed the hoodie robber was getting back up.

"Oh no you don't!" the halfa shouted as he tackled the man back to the ground and proceeded to punch him in the back. "You think you can threaten to hurt people whenever you want? You think that you can live your life stealing from those who have earned what they got? Well guess what; you picked a bad day to do it!"

The two young men jumped over the counter. One of the men, who was of Armenian heritage, kicked the gun away while the other, who was of Korean heritage, grabbed a bat from behind the counter.

"Get out of the way," the armed employee said to the "teen boy."

Zetta did as he was told and jumped off. And before the man could get up, the employee swung the bat. It connected with the man's jaw, finally sending him into unconsciousness. The woman, seeing that her opponent's male counterpart was unconscious, she grabbed the female criminal's head and smacked it against the counter edge. Now both wrong-doers were out cold.

Both Zettabyte and the customer stood glaring at the thieves, heaving from effort. They looked at each other. The woman, who was wearing dark skinny jeans, periwinkle sneakers and a zipped up sky blue sweater stared at the Cybertronian teen. She smiled and nodded. Zetta returned the gesture.

The silence was broken by applauses and cries of relief. The customers surrounded the two heroes, offering their praise and thanks.

"Great job!"

"That was amazing!"

"How did you learn to fight like that?"

"Mommy, they're superheroes!"

Zetta could only stand there and stare at the impressed and happy faces around him. That's when the elderly man from behind the counter came over. He looked to be in his sixties or seventies and had curly white hair, slight stubble, and sparkling hazel eyes that were looking at him through wire-rimmed glasses.

"Thank you two so much," he said, sincere smile of appreciation spreading across his face. "As a show of appreciation, my co-workers and I would like to give you some free things, including whatever you were planning to buy."

"Oh no sir, it wouldn't be right to take anything without paying for it," the mechling said immediately with a humble tone.

The icy blue-eyed woman beside him nodded.

"No, we insist," the elderly man said. "We're giving it to you. And we won't take no for an answer."

The mechling looked at the other three employees who nodded with grateful smiles. He looked at his fellow fighter and saw that she also seemed to be letting go of her resolve.

Seeing that there was no way out, Zettabyte gave in, "Alright."

"I give in as well," the woman said as well.

"Excellent. Now let's see what we can get you two,"

 _Out in the parking lot twenty minutes later; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Placing his items into his vehicle mode's compartments, Zetta watched as the cops placed the two incapacitated robbers into the back of their car. One of them, a young man with short and scruffy strawberry blonde hair, looked at the "teen boy" and smiled with a salute which the halfa happily returned.

The twenty minutes had been busy. The cops had arrived, cuffed the two criminals, and spoke to the staff. Apparently, the two were wanted for a string of robberies; both houses and businesses. The elderly man and the young Armenian man had been talking with the police whilst their co-workers had helped Zetta and the young woman get their items. The mechling had only meant to get the medical supplies he desired but the CVS employees were terribly persistent. To appease them, he took a bag of barbecue _Lay's_ chips, two Milky Way bars, one dark chocolate and one milk, a bottle of water, an apple, and a orange.

He noticed that the icy blue-eyed stranger collected a lot more than he did; toiletries, food, medicine, and snacks like Oreos, Nutter Butters, dried fruit, pretzels, chips, sodas, candy, and other essentials and pleasures. She also grabbed any clothing items they had alongside batteries, matches, and even a few necessities for a child like toys and toothpaste approved for children under six years. The latter items made the neutral youth realize that she was a mother or at least caring for one of some sort.

Still wanting to be courteous, Zetta slipped each of the employees twenty dollars when they weren't looking. Seeing as that they did foil the two serial thieves, he felt that they deserved some reward themselves. He would have given something to his fellow crime-fighter but she had walked out the door before he was done and now he couldn't find her.

 _Must have been in hurry to get back to her charge_ , he thought with casualness.

Suddenly his comm. pinged.

"Hello?" came the Cybertronian teen's friendly question as he answered.

" **Hey Zee, it's me,"** came the familiar voice of Team Prime's youngest charge.

"Hey Raf? How are you?" came the mechling's cheerful response.

" **Fine. Actually, can you come get me? I was studying in the library and I called Bee to pick me up but he didn't answer. I tried Ratchet too but no answer. And my parents are having some old friends from college over for dinner and my mom told me yesterday to come home early from school to wash up,"** Raf explained. **"If I'm late, it won't be pretty."**

"Of course. I'll be over in a few minutes," Zettabyte confirmed.

" **Thanks Zetta. See you when you get here,"** the computer protégé's gratefully replied.

"Alright. You're welcome Raf. See you soon," the halfa said before ending the call.

As he drove away from the CVS and into the outskirts of the city, preparing to call Soundwave, Zetta wondered what on Earth and Cybertron was going on today.

 _In Jasper, Nevada ten minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

"Thanks for picking me up, Zetta," Raf said happily as he got into the hybrid car's passenger seat. "I guess Bee is on a mission with the others and Ratchet is busy."

The young Cybertronian's holoform was absent. No doubt it was put away so he could focus on driving. But Raf didn't mind. He was just glad that he had someone to drive him home and have a conversation with.

"There's no need to thank me Raf. I don't mind helping you, Jack, or Miko," the neutral youth said humbly. "Say, how are Jack and Miko?"

"Jack's fine. That organic burn cream you made with the plant samples you and Sasha collected is doing wonders," the pre-teen boy said with a pleasant nod.

Three days before, Jack had been at work, showing a new employee the ropes. The new employee, a jaded, uninterested freshman named Shawn, had little interest in listening to his more experienced co-worker. While cooking some fries, Shawn had been distracted. Upon realizing he was over cooking them, he hastily pulled them out, splashing Jack's shoulder with hot oil that seeped through his clothes and burned him Sasha, who had been there at the time to try their new veggie burger, had called Ms. Darby as she ran out to her guardian to alert him of what had transpired. The nurse had never driven so fast in her life and thanked the heavens that she was not caught by any cops.

Jack's boss allowed the frantic Darby matriarch to tend to her son whilst he set to give Shawn a pink slip. Why June went to cool down her son's burns, the mechling had proceeded to use some of the herbal plants sample that the nature-lover was bringing home from the greenhouse to make a mixture to heal burns, a useful skill he had learned from his human friend. Applying the substance to the onyx-haired boy's injuries before wrapping them in gauze, Jack claimed to be feeling better. That didn't stop June from taking her son to the hospital.

The following day, June had come up to raven-haired girl and the mechling's holoform and hugged them, thanking them for their help and the burn cream which was miraculously working fast and that it seemed Jack would escape scarring. The neutral youth only let his charge know that the mixture had some Power Nectar in it. Having found out it could make any substance, topical or otherwise, work faster, stronger, and more adequately from his teacher, Zetta thought it would be a good idea to keep some on hand.

He had also been thanked by Arcee as well, though something in his spark and mind told him that she wanted to gather him into an embrace. And, surprisingly, that would have been alright with him.

"That's good. And Miko?" the Cybertronian teen probed.

At this question, the brunette's frowned a bit as he spoke, "Not so well. She's still grounded until a week from today. And her hopes of joining the Art Club or Music/Band Club have been crushed."

"What?! Why?" the halfa couldn't exclaim in surprise.

The Asian girl's art may not have been equal to that of Pablo Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci but he had seen quite a few of her pieces and thought they looked good. And while her music tastes differentiated from his, he was certain that others in the club who enjoyed metal music would be fond of her skills.

"Her grades," Raf said with a disappointed shrug. "There have been reports that some students with low scores have been using the clubs they're a part of as excuses. The counselors and teachers in charge of the club are starting to keep track of the members' grades. If they're grade falls below the C line, they're suspended from the club or denied integration into the club until their grades are brought back up."

"And Miko's grades are unacceptable?" Zettabyte inquired softly.

"Well, she's managed a B- in a few like English and P.E. and a C+ in everything else she's currently has a D+ in Math," the computer protégé explained.

"Has she gone to tutoring? Has anyone offered her help?" the mechling questioned.

"She doesn't like staying after school too much. And even if she did want to get tutoring, she'd have to tell the Sandersons that she'll be getting tutoring. I think she's afraid they'll look into her grades and ground her more when they see how she's doing in Math," Raf continued. "I use to help her but we stopped because she had a hard time concentrating. To be honest…I think she's embarrassed to ask for help from me because of the age gap."

"Well she shouldn't," the mechling said in a harsher tone that he meant to use. "There's no shame in asking for help from a friend. No matter the age. Has Bulkhead said-?"

The neutral youth's suddenly stopped talking and driving.

"Zetta? What is it?" the pre-teen high school student asked, a bit apprehensively.

After a second, Zetta answered, "Raf, hold on to something and cover your head as best as you can."

Officially nervous, the brunette did as he was told. No sooner had the young genius obeyed his driver's did the ground start shaking. The tremors wracked the poor mechling and his passenger with hard crazed movements. Zetta's holoform appeared and covered the young human. The young Cybertronian even, involuntarily, jumped off the ground a foot or two at least three times. It lasted for a minute or two before stopping. Slowly, the holoform sat up and fizzed out.

Silence.

Then the halfa spoke, "Are you alright, Raf?"

"…Y-Yeah," Raf replied.

"Good," Zetta breathed in relief. "Was it just me or was something strange about that earthquake?"

"You noticed it too?" the computer protégé asked.

"Yes. It felt like we were becoming airborne. Like something was trying to lift us and a good chunk of the Earth off the planet," the mechling said in astonishment.

"Hey, how did you see that earthquake coming?" the brunette asked curiously.

"To be honest, I have no idea. I just got a sense that something was about to happen," the neutral youth answered honestly.

And he was being honest. While his senses were enhanced thanks to his ghost abilities, his sensing the oncoming of the earthquake was not due to that. Something else had been the cause. It was like a change in the air when you felt someone was about to pop out and attack you or something of the sort.

"Maybe you have a sixth sense to these things, like animals," the brunette replied before he gasped and clamped his hand over his mouth. "I-I'm sorry! I wasn't comparing you to an animal. I-I-!"

"It's alright. I'm not offended," Zetta said, laughing. "It fact, that might be just what happened."

The pre-teen smiled just as his phone went off. The Cybertronian teen remained quiet as his passenger answered the call.

"Hello? Hi Mama…Yes, I'm fine...A friend is driving me home...He kept me safe during the earthquake…No Mama, it wasn't the friend with the muscle car…We're a few minutes away from home…Alright, see you soon. Love you too," the young genius said before the ending the call. "My dad just left the house to get my siblings. My mom's alone at the house waiting for me. We better hurry."

"Of course," the halfa agreed as he began driving once again. "Hey, you want a snack?"

As Zetta said it, he opened the center console to reveal the chips, water, fruit, and candy.

"Thanks!" the computer protégé said as he grabbed the water, apple, and the milk chocolate Milky Way.

He would gladly grabbed the chips but he knew his mother wouldn't want him to spoil his dinner.

"No problem," the mechling said casually.

By the time they had reached the Esquivel residence, the pre-teen had finished the apple and drank the last few drops of water. He had put the Milk Way bar away for later.

As he prepared to get out, Zettabyte spoke up, "Do you think you can call Ratchet for me?"

"Yeah, why? Are you injured?" Raf asked with concern.

"No but I want you to tell him to get a Ground bridge ready for me at these coordinates in fifteen minutes," the neutral youth stated as he gave Team Prime's youngest charge the coordinates. "I want to have a chat with the team."

 _At Autobot base eighteen minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

The three Autobot soldiers and Prime didn't expect to see Zettabyte standing by Ratchet when they arrived back at the base.

A combination of hope and fear welled up in the sparks of two of the soldiers and the Autobot leader. Why was he here? Was he finally going to ask to be a part of their team? Or was he here to officially denounce Optimus in favor of Megatron.

Bee was the only one who wasn't focused on the other mechling as he spoke urgently to the medic, **[Ratchet, I need you to Bridge me to town! I just heard there was an earthquake! I need to get to Raf!]**

"Calm down! Zettabyte already saw to that," the veteran mech snapped irritably.

Looking at his ruby and sapphire counterpart in surprise, the scout beeped, **[Really?]**

"Yes. He tried calling you but you didn't pick up so he called me," the neutral youth stated in a-matter-of-fact voice.

 **[Well, thanks,]** the young Autobot said sheepishly.

"Why are you here?" the Wrecker asked bluntly.

Before anyone could scold the Wrecker for his rudeness, Zettabyte coolly spoke, "Are you aware that students at the high school now have to have passing grades to be in clubs?"

Seeming a bit put off, the moss-colored mech answered, "Uhhh, no."

"Are you aware that your charge wants to join the Art Club and Music Club but can't because she is not passing her math class?" the halfa asked patiently.

"Well that math class is pretty hard," the Autobot brawler said, still not understanding what the ruby and sapphire Cybertronian teen's point was.

"Well, don't you think you should help her correct this problem? Seeing as how you're the only authority figure she'll listen to?" Zettabyte asked carefully as though he was talking to distracted youngling.

"I've tried helping her but human math is pretty different," the former construction mech said with a helpless shrug which irked the halfa.

 _No it's not. You're just too lazy to study it in your free time and see how it works because all you care about is human pop culture and killing the Vehicons and Eradicons_ , Zetta wanted to snap.

"Have you tried to encourage her to ask Raf or one of the tutors at the school for help?" the neutral you asked calmly instead.

"Well, I kind of thought Raf would help her if she was having trouble. He's good at it," Bulkhead stated.

"That he is but Raf says that she has difficulty concentrating when he helps her. And she refuses to go to tutoring because she's afraid the Sandersons will ground her further," Zetta said, growing a little annoyed. "Bulkhead you should be concern about this. She's talented, I'll give her that. But whether you and her like it or not, she needs to pass that class."

Feeling a bit annoyed himself, the Wrecker snipped back, "I don't see why humans make kids like Miko study that stuff. Not all of them are gonna be mathematicians like her teacher."

"That's not the point! She needs it to get into a good college so she can go on to be whoever she wants to be. Be that an artist or a musician. But to get into classes that have those subjects, she needs a good understanding of the general education subjects. Because, other than volunteer work and jobs, those are the other things colleges look at to see if a high school graduate is qualified," the ruby and sapphire mechling explained in exasperation. "Until she gets an adequate place to work or volunteer, getting acceptable grades is the only way, at the moment, she'll have a chance for a university when she graduates."

Arcee stared at her son. While she didn't doubt that he cared for the humans, especially the ones who knew of their existence, he never vocalized how truly passionate he was about it until now.

"You think that I don't know that?" the moss-colored mech spat.

"Well you act like it!" Zettabyte shot back.

"Now let's all calm down," the former archivist said as he stepped between his soldier and the neutral youth. "Now, I agree with Zettabyte. While Miko may choose a career of her choice, it is imperative that she graduate so she can obtain the education needed to help her pursue her goals. We will find a solution."

"Thank you, sir. And since I brought the situation to attention, I would like to offer to be her tutor," the neutral youth stated respectfully.

"No way!" the Autobot brawler growled. "I'm not letting you tutor her! Ratchet can!"

"Yip-ip-ip! Stop right there. I already have you all to fix after every battle and this base to tend to. I don't have time to tutor that stubborn little human femmenet," the Autobot CMO, who had been busying himself with the console, retorted. "Why don't you ask Ms. Darby? Isn't that what human carriers are for?"

Now it was Arcee's turn to get mad.

"Excuse me? What were you suggesting?" the two-wheeler asked angrily.

"What do you mean?" Ratchet asked, half confused and half annoyed.

" 'Isn't that what human carriers are for?' Are you kidding me?" the femme spat in disgust.

Realizing what his teammate was angry about, the older Autobot immediately try to correct the misunderstanding, "Arcee, t-that's not what I meant-!"

"Then what did you mean?" the sapphire and bubblegum colored Autobot snarled.

Before anything else could be said, and before fists could start flying in place of words, Zetta spoke up once again, "Excuse me but we were talking about Miko. I'm not gonna stand around while you all ignore the fact that her future is in jeopardy."

"Then leave it to us! And stop butting in!" the former construction mech snarled.

"You know what? Fine! Forget this!" the ruby and sapphire Cybertronian mechling snapped as he made his way towards the exit. "It's obvious that I was fool for coming to you guys about Miko's trouble. You can't even discuss such subjects without turning into a group of _raging zoo animals_!"

That certainly got them to shut up.

"I don't know why I'm surprised, honestly. Scrap, I don't know why I came here if all I was going to get in response was a package of chaos. But I guess that serves me right for thinking you guys could ever understand and solve a problem that isn't focusing on _murdering_ the Cons!" came the halfa's spiteful lashing as he tore out of the base without looking back at the astonished Autobots.

 _In the Ghost Zone half an hour later; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"Are you feeling better now?" Nephilus asked his student.

"Mostly. Thank you, Nephilus," Zetta said gratefully as he moved deeper into the hot water and sipped his glass of Nectar.

"Good. I don't enjoy seeing my friend and student unhappy," the halfa's confidant said in a no-nonsense tone.

Five minutes of leaving the base, Zetta knew he needed to blow off cool off. Dropping his supplies and the leftover snacks at Sasha's house, planning to ask her to help him organize them when she got home, he left for the Ghost Zone. Upon exiting the portal on the other side, he was instantly greeted by his mentor. The spirit mech instantly saw that his pupil was in distress and immediately set to resolve his unhappiness.

The soul guider had taken the neutral youth to a foresty place not unlike Terrana's garden. However, there were less trees and more flowers and in the middle was a hot spring that could hold seven to nine bots. The water was clear in spite of the steam rising from it. Stepping into the warm liquid soothed the mechling little by little. Upon fully submerging himself in the spring, the Cybertronian teen calmed down a bit and proceeded to vent his frustrations to his friend. After Nephilus lit a few scented candles and gave him a glass of Nectar garnished with a slice of fruit and herb sprigs from Terrana's garden, Zetta was finally feeling at peace. He was tempted to ask his friend and mentor about the material but thought that it could held off for another time. Right now, he just wanted to relax and let his problems roll off his shoulder platings.

"I know. It's just that…I feel for Miko. She's stuck with a guardian who, I feel, isn't trying hard enough to be good examples for her," Zettabyte sighed. "Bee is, honestly, pretty darn good with Raf. He obviously does look at him like he's his brother. Arcee is good to Jack but things, from what Jack has told me, still seem tense at times. But Bulkhead…I can't seem to find an excuse for him."

The spirit mech looked at his pupil, gesturing for him to go on.

"Jack told me that his and Arcee's partnership use to be very strained. But if you ask me, I can't help but feel that it's still a little strain. It's like she's afraid to let him completely in and that's not right. Jack has been nothing but a hard-working, compassionate, and trustworthy allie to that team. He already had to worry about school and his job, a job that is less than what a good person like him truly deserves, and now he's being expected to act like a fellow soldier for Arcee. He should be enjoying himself like all his classmates, not paying for a war that was provoked by the upper class of Cybertron."

The soul guider listened with patient look.

"And if it's not bad enough that he has to be the man of the house but now he and his mother have to worry even more about their welfare!" the neutral youth exclaimed. "And, I know this sounds ridiculous, but I can't help but think Arcee is using Jack to replace something besides the whole her deceased partners left. And…I don't know why or what it is. It worries me."

The cobalt mech's indigo optics visibly softened.

"And of course there's Bulkhead. It's like the mech lives to turn human teens like Miko against their own elders. You should have seen him. He was acting like some irresponsible, man-child uncle who actually enjoys seeing her become like him. He forgets that human society isn't like the Cybertronian "Golden Age" where you can drop out of an educational facility and there will be some low-grade construction job, a mining job, or a dueling job that you can apply for with just a few bulky upgrades. Miko has potential and talent, I don't want to see her squander it just because she couldn't get into an adequate college," Zetta huffed irritably. "What if she does drop out and gets into some trouble while trying to keep herself fed and clothed? Seeing as Bulkhead has had such a huge influence on her, I'll doubt she'll swallow her pride and accept help from her family or friends. And what if it's legal trouble with corrupted authority figures who'll instantly take a look at her and throw the book at her just because they feel like it?"

Nephilus optics visibly widened before darkening with a grim nod.

"Honestly though, I think Ratchet's attitude towards the human race is the worse. He has absolutely no passion about learning about the inhabitants of this world. He just ridicules their customs and cultures. Like he thinks it's not worth his time! I bet that if he could, he would leave Jack, Raf, and Miko in the middle of nowhere. He just has no respect for humanity. Probably thinks that, despite our war consuming our planet and destroying everything we've held dear, we're superior to the humans who have overcome oppression and caste systems of their own with wars and yet still have their planet. Well who the Pit is he to talk down to others?!" the mechling snorted bitterly.

"Sounds like a circus of discord," the cobalt mech stated coolly.

"Exactly! And I could forgive all of it if they would only show an ounce of real, sincere gratitude for the humans who are helping them. Jack told me that Bulkhead talks back to Agent Fowler and says a lot of slag about him. That poor man works his rump off every day, trying ensure his people's security while helping out the Autobot's cause and that's the thanks he gets? And what about Ms. Darby? She's the sole human parent. If she wanted to she could keep Jack from coming back to the base and encourage the Esquivels and the Sandersons to keep Raf and Miko from their partners. Yet I've seen her time and time again show them forgiveness and faith. So if I were them, I would shape up and start showing the humans some more respect and gratitude," the halfa vented, servo clenching the glass. "Primus forgive me, but I'm tempted to tell Jack's mom that the upper class bots Optimus use to socialize with saw all organics, sentient or not, as vermin and would not hesitate to kill them. That would certainly make her put her foot down with them."

"Now Zetta, you know that's not a good way to go about this issue," Nephilus lectured gently. "A lot of this sounds like it's coming from something deeper than just your aggravation with what they're lacking."

"I know," the Cybertronian teen sighed exhaustedly. "I just can't help but feel that they would just up and leave this world if they could, without realizing what they would be losing. I just want them to actually, visibly show that they care about the humans. Protecting them is not enough. I want them to see the beauty and wonders of this world like I do. To see how loyal and loving their charges are being towards them. For once, I just want them to truly be grateful for the help they're getting."

"It's challenging for the war-hardened to have clear vision," the soul guider said sadly.

Sighing and nodding, Zetta looked at the tree nearest to the hot spring. In the branch was a nest and inside were three small Golden-Crested Woodpecker hatchlings. Terrana's garden, as the spirit of nature had explained, was a haven for endangered species that were supposedly, to the humans, extinct. He recalled the day before how a few Tasmanian Tiger cubs climbed all over his servo. The neutral youth watched as the mother bird arrived, worms in her beak for her offspring. Dutifully, she began feeding her precious babes.

"Nephilus…do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a different species?"

"Many times. But each species has its ups and downs," the cobalt mech responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes, but just think about it," Zettabyte insisted eagerly. "If you were a bird then you could fly to any place you want-!"

"While never truly having a real home. Soaring but never settling," Nephilus said firmly with a nod but smiled slightly.

The halfa would not relent, "You could be a fish and swim to places unexplored by land-dwellers-!"

"Until one of them makes you their meal," the spirit mech chuckled lowly, causing his student to pout. "Nothing is black or white. Just gray. You of all individuals should know that."

Blinking in surprise, the mechling blushed a deep sky blue out of embarrassment.

"But you have an open-mind and a curious nature. And that is why you see things as such," the soul guider said, optics softening to show he meant no harm.

That certainly made Zettabyte smile once again, "Thank you."

His teacher nodded back.

"So how has it been for you? How's everything with Riversong?" the Cybertronian teen asked curiously and politely.

"Things have been good. Well…more than good, actually," the spirit mech said with a blush of his own.

"I can see that," the halfa said as he moved to where the soul guider's cloak laid, folded neatly, and pulled out a tuft silvery white fur.

That's when Nephilus splashed him.

 _Ten minutes later on the road to Jasper; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Feeling refreshed from the hot spring and the talk, Zetta thanked Nephilus and left to return to Sasha's house, hoping that she was home already. As he drove, he thought about the last part of the conversation.

 _Even if the ups and downs are different for each species, it would be amazing to experience them. To see how they differ. To…understand them,_ the mechling thought wistfully as drove.

The sky was mostly covered in grayish clouds, indicating that autumn was upon the inhabitants of Jasper. Most of trees were covered in leaves of yellow, crimson, orange, and brown. Very few held emerald green leaves. Despite the desert, the Cybertronian teen enjoyed the beauty in the changing seasons.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he came upon an ugly sight.

A large yellow and sea green truck lay on its side just feet away from the road. The cargo the truck was carrying, a large container with an ominous looking hazard sign on the side, looked to be undamaged but the truck tractor looked pretty banged up. There were even flames flickering from the area where it looked like the engine tried to burst out through the grill.

Moving into action, the neutral youth screeched to a halt, leaving blackened skid marks in his wake. Transforming into his bipedal mode, he sprinted to the truck. Without thinking, he off the dented door and looked in. A heavy looking man who looked to be in his late thirties or early forties was slouched over the steering wheel, obviously unconscious. Zetta exhaled in relief when he heard the trucker groan. He was still alive.

Carefully, he lifted the trucker from his seat before gently settling him down on the other side of the road. As soon as he was sure the man was safe, Zettabyte went back to the truck. He had to unhitch the container from the truck before the engine blew. But before he could do so, he noticed something. Beneath the dashboard, he saw something white. He realized it was a large envelope of some sort. Opening it, he discovered it held a short letter. At the top was a sphere-like symbol and the letters KSI under it.

"*Dear Dr. Thaddeus Morocco,*" the halfa began reading. "*We here at Kinetic Solutions Incorporated (KSI) are very impressed and pleased with the machinery and tools you have provided us with. You have especially caught the eye of Mr. Joshua Joyce, head of our company. As promised, we have sent you the mysterious and rare metamorphic chemical that our chemists have recently found. We hope that any findings you get while using this substance, you will graciously share with-*"

But Zettabyte didn't get a chance to finish.

Three blurs of dark violet flashed by. Zettabyte immediately recognized them as Vehicons.

"DRIVE!" one of them screeched at the neutral youth, voice filled with so much terror that Zetta couldn't tell who the mech was.

He looked the way they had come from and saw what they were running from.

A familiar quartet of vehicles were coming after the drones.

Acting quickly, the Cybertronian teen stepped in front of them, waved his arms, and shouted, "Stop! There's been an accident! I think the truck is gonna blow! We gotta get it out of here!"

The shouting and waving was effective but not in the way the mechling wanted.

Whether it was because they heard what he said and wanted to help or they were surprised by his actions, they did stop. Or tried to anyway. Optimus was the first to try to brake fast but it only resulted in him skidding sideways. Transforming did him no good. He fell forward, onto his chest. Arcee faired no better. The moment she transformed, she tumbled into the sandy side of the road, coming to a screech on her side, small flecks of metal and blue paint sprayed alongside the dust clouds. Bumblebee transformed as well but he lost his footing and fell on his back with a loud _thud_. Bulkhead, tumbling with a startled look on his face and blaster out, fell awkwardly. The Wrecker fell on the same side as the fallen truck. And while he fell parallel to the mangled vehicle, the arm that had the blaster was pointed at the container. The impact his blaster made with the ground caused the Energon shot to be let loose.

Everything happened so fast.

Zettabyte quickly ran to the other side of the road where the human laid. Like he had done with his partner the first time he saved her, he hunched over the trucker, covering him. The silence didn't even last a second. The roar of an explosion hit the neutral youth's audios with a full force and the heat from the combustion singed his armor slightly. And just when he thought it couldn't get worse, he felt something splash onto his armor.

And he had a pretty good hunch on what it was.

 _Third Person Perspective_

Both factions had no idea what had happened.

The Vehicons had been driving away when they heard the ruby and sapphire mechling's shouting, followed by an explosion. The Autobots had been right on their enemies' tails when the neutral youth threw himself in front of them, screaming and yelling.

Then everything became havoc.

What was left of the already damaged vehicle was burning into blackened scrap. The contents of the container, a strange fuchsia substance that was tinted with a blackish or dark-grayish hue, had a scent that mimicked rotten fruit and bleach, and had the same consistency of diluted soap, covered a portion of the road and sandy area around it.

But as they all looked at Zetta, their saw, to their horror, that he too had been drenched by the substance. It mostly got his back and legs but a little had gotten near his neck and a bit on the back of his arms. They all watched intensely, waiting to see what would happen next to the young Cybertronian. Afraid to touch him, for fear that he would fade out of existence if they so much as called out to him.

They watched, anticipation bordering between anguish and relief, as Zettabyte stood up. He lifted his head and looked off into the desert, away from the road. Thankfully, the Vehicons didn't seem to notice the unconscious human that laid at his pedes. Arcee was the first to take a step towards him.

His helm snapped in her direction.

At least she thought it was her direction. She nearly gasped when she saw the far off look in his optics, as though his mind was some place else. Her spark twisted as it recognized the sensation of a carrier sensing that their creation was not right. Before she could get closer, one of the drones pointed their blasters at her.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" the scout drone shouted in a rage.

That seemed to snap the halfa from whatever daze he was in. He shook his helm and blinked. He still seemed stunned but not as much. Suddenly, Zetta snapped his head and looked behind the Autobots. His enhanced sight helped him see three shapes in the distance that were moving towards their direction.

"Shoot!" he breathed alarm as he turned towards the trio of Decepticons. "There's more humans coming! Move!"

Hesitating only a little, the Vehicons, and the Autobots not too long after the Cybertronian teen said that, obeyed the ruby and sapphire mechling's warning, transformed, and fled. Zettabyte did the same, though he drove off into the desert, shouting that he would see the drones later. Arcee was tempted to chase after him but her leader and teammates were already fleeing as well.

"Arcee! Let's move!" Bulkhead shouted at the femme.

"But Zetta-!" she tried to protest frantically, her "Sadie" disguise pointing in the direction he went.

But when they all turned to the direction where the neutral youth fled, they saw no trace of him. No footprints, no tire tracks, nothing. The only sign that he had went into that direction were droplets of the chemical that had covered him which seemed to stop just a few meters from the accident site.

"We'll find him! I promise! Now we must move!" the Prime said in his authoritative tone.

The two-wheeler gave in miserably.

As he and his soldiers sped away from the sight, thankfully, before the civilian vehicles arrived, Optimus silently promised that he would find the neutral youth safe and sound.

No matter the cost.

 _At Sasha's house three hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha smiled as she got out of the black and violet SUV, backpack on her back and Midnight in her arms. Her greenhouse uniform was very dirty thanks to a mishap with some new soil but she didn't mind.

"Thank you for the drive home Sawyer," the nature-lover said gratefully, holding the feline close to her. "And thanks again for looking after Midnight."

"Mew!" Midnight mewled in thanks as well.

"Anytime Sasha," Sawyer said with a grin. "I gotta go. My grandma just sold some old things on Craigslist and I don't want her meeting with the buyers alone."

The raven-haired girl nodded in understanding, "Gotcha. We still on tomorrow for a day out with Addie, Colette, and the others?"

By others she meant a few members of the Earth Club who had offered to take the Goth and her friends to the movies and other places tomorrow.

"You bet!" the soccer-player nodded before driving away, hand waving out the window. "See you tomorrow! Bye!"

"See you! Bye!" Sasha replied before making her way inside her house.

After giving the feline fresh food and water, the nature-lover headed up stairs to wash up and put on some clean clothes. Minutes later, after a short shower and slipping into some comfortable violet shorts and gray spaghetti-strap tank top with a dark brown owl on it, she proceeded to take her uniform and other dirty clothes to the laundry room. However, she was stopped by the sound of her phone vibrating, signaling a text. Setting down the basket, she picked up her phone and went to her messages. The message she received was from Juliet.

It read: **(Look up "Botched Robbery at a CVS" on the Salt Lake City News website! It's unbelievable!)**

Curious and slightly concerned, the Goth did as the text instructed. Going to the website on her phone and typing the title into the search engine, she looked at the article.

She began reading, "* It was a shocking day for the employees of this CVS when two wanted, serial thieves held a gun to them, threatening to kill them and the customers. They were even more shock when two of the customers, one teenage boy and one grown woman, proceeded to fight the thieves. Witnesses described the two individuals' fighting styles as swift and intense. Both customers, who folks are now calling heroes, came out unscathed and humble. While the staff wasn't able to get their names, they were able to get them on tape.*"

Scrolling down, her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when she saw _who_ the teenage boy was.

A moment later, she frantically began calling her partner. She called him once. He didn't answer. Twice. Still no answer. A third time. Nothing.

Just as she felt that she was about to freak out, she heard scratching. Following the noise, she saw that the small mammal was clawing at the door, mismatched eyes focused on the barrier that was separating her from whatever it was that she was trying to get to. Slowly walking over, the nature-lover bend down to her small, furry friend's level.

"What is it Midnight?" the raven-haired girl asked rhetorically. "Is Zetta home?"

"Rowrr!" the small bundle of fur meowed impatiently.

Standing back up, Sasha slowly opened the door.

What she saw was something she never expected to see in her time in Jasper.

A boy, about Jack's age, lay naked in the middle of the garage.

He had tanned-skin and a mop of deep black hair. She couldn't see his face as it was buried in his arms, as if he was taking a nap. He was lithe but had an equal amount of muscle. She had to turn her face away, face drained of color.

Who was he? Why was he here? Where did he come from? What had been doing or planning to do? How did he even get in? Was he some sort of streaker burglar? A perverted runaway? A drugged out drifter? A teen from another school who was on the receiving end of some prank or dare gone wrong?

It was then that the Goth realized Midnight was no longer beside her. Sasha realized, to her horror, that she had closed the door with her precious feline in the garage with the possibly hostile stranger! Running to grab a weapon, which was basically an umbrella, she ran back to the side door and ripped it open, ready to save her dear cat.

Until she saw that the small mammal was nuzzling the intruder's head, purring.

Bewildered and confused, Sasha stepped closer, umbrella still in her hands. Kneeling in front of the stranger, she poked his shoulder with the tip of the umbrella. No movement. Was he dead? She repeated the action. This time, she did get a reaction. The boy groaned and he started to shift. Somehow, the pitch of the groan sounded very familiar…

"Amma, five more minutes!" came the newcomer's whine.

Her guardian's whine.

Dropping the umbrella in shock, the nature-lover lifted the boy's face to discover that it looked almost exactly like Zetta's holoform. The hair-do was similar as well, minus the highlights.

The action of his face being lifted up caused the stanger's eyes to scrunch up before opening.

His left eye was blood red and his right eye was a crystallic blue.

Her suspicions were made officially right when he spoke, "Sasha? When did you get to be my size?"

Ignoring the question, the raven-haired girl inquired, "Zetta? Is that you?"

"Yes? Why did you ask that question? And why does my face feel like it's been compressed but it doesn't hurt?" the robot-turned-human asked, growing more frightened by the moment.

Trying to remain calm herself, Sasha managed to choke out, "Zetta…I don't know how to tell you this but…you've somehow…became human."

Here it is! My "Zetta Becomes Human Fanfic!" Sorry it took so long. I'm trying to upload these stories as fast as I can. Stay tune!

Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Meet Zeke Torrance

Chapter 2: Meet Zeke Torrance

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

Sasha didn't know what to expect as those words left her lips.

She expected Zetta to pass out again, to deny her words, or worse, to have a panic attack and harm himself in the process.

But he did none of these.

Instead, he looked up at her with surprised eyes that, in spite of their new look, still had the familiar gleam as their mechanic counterparts.

He then proceeded to get up. The former Cybertronian squeezed his eyes shut as his body protested with a soreness and fatigue he never experienced. Upon getting to his bare feet, he stumbled back a little before he gained his balance. Sasha had rushed inside to retrieve something to cover up his newfound birthday suit. She returned with a crimson red towel which she tossed to her partner without looking, her cheeks a bright scarlet.

Zettabyte successfully caught the towel and wrapped it around his lower body. He then proceeded to examine his arms, hands, chest, face, and hair. Seeing her other unofficial owner completely awake, Midnight rubbed against his bare ankle. The neutral youth slowly and gently picked up the feline and stroked her dark fur, eliciting a rumbling purr from her throat.

"Wow…I can actually hold her now. I mean, I could hold her before but not like this!" Zetta breathed in awe as he looked back up at his friend. "May I...see what I look like?"

Nodding in understanding, the Goth once again went inside, retrieved a small mirror from a drawer in the supply room. She took note of the medical supplies, the wallet she lent him, and the snacks before returning to her friend.

Taking the mirror gently while carefully handing the cat off to the nature-lover, Zetta took the small hand sized mirror and stared at his new reflection. If possible, his eyes widened more as he got a _real_ good look at his organic appearance. Just as Sasha was certain he was going to pass out, he looked up from the reflective surface and looked at her straight in the eye.

"So…this is the new me?" the sable-haired teen asked the raven-haired girl.

"Yes," Sasha answered quietly.

"I-I can't believe it," he said, plopping down on the ground, towel successfully staying on.

"Neither can I," the Goth replied, petting Midnight. "Can you remember anything? Anything that might explain how this happened?"

Zetta's mismatched eyes scrunched close as he forced his processor-turned-organic brain to recall the day's events, "I was leaving the Ghost Zone. I came upon a crashed truck. It was carrying some sort of chemical. I took the driver out and tried to move the container holding the chemical. I found a letter talking about someone named Morocco and some company. Some Vehicons rushed by, trying to escape the Autobots. I tried to get their attention but it just caused a mess."

By this time, the nature-lover had taken a seat by her partner.

"Bulkhead accidentally shot the container. I went to cover the driver. The chemical hit me in the back. I think I might've blacked out for a minute or more. Then, I just drove away. I knew I should have called Nephilus or Knock Out for help but I guess the shock, the chemical, or both impaired my judgement," the neutral youth admitted with an ashamed shrug, hugging his knees.

Sasha wrapped an arm around his bare shoulders and gave him a slight hug to comfort him.

"But…you know what? I'm…actually more excited and nervous than anything else," the sable-haired teen smiled awkwardly. "Just today, I wondered what life would be like as a human. Now I'm gonna live it."

"But?" the raven-haired girl put in, sensing that there was going to be a catch.

"But what if I can't function as a human? What if I can't become Cybertronian again? Can I still access my powers?" the mechling turned boy asked, a bit frantic.

"It's going to be alright Zee. I'm sure that Nephilus and the others can help," Sasha stated gently but firmly. "Say, where is your bracelet?"

At the mentioning of his key to get into the Ghost Zone, Zettabyte's gasped in horrified realization, "Oh no…I left it in my sub-space! I can't activate my subspace while I'm human!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down. We'll figure something out," the Goth quickly reassured him.

Suddenly Midnight, who had been sitting between Sasha's folded legs, jumped out and ran back inside the house, tail straight with alert. Exchanging looks of surprise and curiosity, both Zetta and Sasha followed their unofficial pet. They chased the feline up the stairs and into Sasha's room.

Sitting on the window sill, Midnight pawed at the window insistently, "Meow! Rowrrrr!"

The two teens looked at each other, shrugging. The neutral youth picked the bundle of fur back up as his friend opened the window. No sooner had she done it than a familiar blur of white come in.

"Baylina?!" former Cybertronian and Goth exclaimed in surprise.

The snowy owl perched herself on the black dresser as she hooted at the two teens, "Hoo hoo."

"Rowwrrr!" Midnight mewled as she batted a paw in the air, a friendly gesture, before jumping onto the dresser and rubbing against the avian.

"Hoo," Baylina chirped brightly.

Zetta reached slowly towards her. The nocturnal bird looked at him in surprise.

"Don't you recognize me, Baylina? It's me, Zetta," the former Cybertronian said cautiously, slowly still reaching his hand out.

To his relief, the snowy owl chirped before pushing her head against the sable-haired teen's outstretched palm. He gently scratched her head, smiling as her icy blue orbs closed in pleasure. The raven-haired girl took it upon herself to join her partner in petting the beautiful avian. Not a minute later, Baylina took off, flying out the window that she came through.

Shutting the window, Sasha turned to Zetta, "I think Nephilus and the others will find out about our situation pretty soon."

The nervousness that had been dwelling inside the mechling-turned-human teen's stomach had dissipated enough for him to smile.

Smiling herself, the nature-lover took his arm while saying, "Come on. Let's get you into some clothes."

 _At the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

June Darby and William Fowler both shared looks of anger and disappointment as they stared at the members of Team Prime, very much like how an angry teacher stared down at a disruptive student.

It had been just three minutes ago that both adult humans had come by. While the nurse's visit was just to report that Jack was almost ready to have his bandages taken off, Fowler had come with even more shocking news. He pulled out papers showing an article on a botched robbery and the ruby and sapphire mechling's holoform. When the liaison said he wanted to them to contact Zetta so he could talk, and compliment, him about his good deed, the Autobots had no choice but to tell their older human allies what had transpired that day.

"I don't believe this," the African American man muttered in aggravation as he rubbed his forehead. "You're gonna tell me that Zetta could be in trouble and you have no idea where he went?"

"That is unfortunately correct, Agent Fowler," Optimus replied gravely. "However, rest assured, we will find him."

"Rest assured?" the Darby matriarch echoed, staring at the Prime in rage and disbelief. " _Rest assured?!_ Optimus, how can we possibly do that when Zetta could be out there, alone and possibly critically injured?"

Whatever Arcee was about to say to console her partner's mother stopped as she felt her spark freeze in fear and her intakes hitched.

"Heavens knows what kind of toxic substances were in that chemical that splashed onto him. And what if he hadn't been there, hmm? Who knows who else could have been affected," the obsidian-haired woman snapped.

"Hey, it's not our fault that he jumped in front of us, screaming and waving his arms around like a crazy bot," Bulkhead retorted.

The look the female human gave him made him wish he hadn't said anything.

"He was trying to protect innocent human lives from something that could have turned lethal to them," June spat, face glowing a dark cherry red with rage.

"You should be thankful that the passersby who came across it had a good enough sense to call 911 for the driver and someone to take care of the spill. AND you should be thankful that Zetta managed to get the Decepticons to flee instead of fight," Fowler put in defiantly before throwing up his hands in utter and complete frustration. "Thankfully, the hazard team was able to do their job quickly and efficiently."

"Maybe he's back on the _Nemesis_ ," the Wrecker guessed.

"How is that any better?" Ratchet snapped, smacking the stronger but younger mech upside the helm. "With his frame covered in a foreign substance, those fraggers probably have that mechling locked in quarantine with limited contact like a diseased turbo-fox."

"Then we have to storm the place and get him out!" the two-wheeler said determinedly, a fierce glow in her optics.

"We cannot storm the warship without knowing whether Zettabyte is on board or not. Such actions would cause a retaliation that could end with a loss that is more than we can handle," the former archivist stated firmly.

 **[Then how do we find out whether he's there or not?]** Bumblebee asked worriedly.

"Rushing our decisions won't help Zettabyte. First, we'll contact Sasha to see whether or not he's at her residence. If he is, we'll bring him in and examine him. If he isn't, we'll search for him. If our searches bring up nothing, we'll resort to getting on the _Nemesis_ ," the cherry red and ocean blue mech explained coolly. "But no matter what, we won't stop searching until we do locate him."

 **[What do we tell Sasha if she asks why we're calling to see if Zee's there?]** the team scout asked his leader and medic.

Ratchet looked at Optimus and waited for his old friend to nod before the Autobot CMO answered, "Lie. We don't want her to scare her…But if she approaches us later on, we must tell her the truth."

 _Meanwhile at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

"You look good Zee," the raven-haired girl stated with a smile.

Midnight, who had been washing her face on the floor, looked up and purred as if to agree.

She had gone into Jeremy's room and sifted through the old articles of clothing that he hadn't taken with him, donated to Goodwill, or given as hand-me-downs to the younger children on the Morgan's side. Thankfully, she had foundnd a baby blue polo shirt that he hadn't wore since his picture day in eleventh grade, an old but clean pair of jeans, some clean white socks, a light gray undershirt and, with embarrassment, dark gray underwear. She had sent him to the master bedroom to get dressed.

Thanks to the knowledge that he had collected when he was Cybertronian and the videos that his charge had showed him, it was practically easy. A few minutes later, he came out. The clothes were a little loose but not too much. And with his handsome skin tone and pitch black hair, he looked quite attractive.

"You think so?" her partner asked curiously as he examined his wardrobe.

"I know so," she replied back with a sincere grin. "It's almost time for dinner. You hungry?"

Before the sable-haired teen could say anything, his stomach rumbled, as if answering for him.

The Goth laughed at his blush and she continued, "I'll take that as a yes. C'mon, I'll prepare dinner."

Just as they got downstairs to the kitchen, the house phone rang. Making a 'one moment' gesture to her newly turned human guardian, the nature-lover proceeded to answer the call.

"Hello, Morgan residence," she said, speaking into the receiver.

" **Hello Sasha. It's Ms. Darby,"** came the gentle voice of her classmate's mother.

"Oh, hello Ms. Darby. How are you? How is Jack? Are his burns almost healed?" Sasha asked politely.

" **Oh, I'm well. And so is Jack. His bandages should be ready to take off by tomorrow night. Sunday morning at the latest,"** came the nurse's response.

"Well, that's good to hear," the nature-lover commented whole-heartedly.

Zetta, having heard it due to being close,

" **Yes it is. I can't thank you and Zetta enough for helping him,"** the Darby matriarch's voice stated kindly and sincerely. **"Say, Zetta wouldn't happen to be there, would he?"**

This caused both teens to freeze in panic. What were they suppose to say? They couldn't possibly tell her the truth. It wasn't that they were afraid that she would accuse them of lying, how could she, but what if she told the Autobots? Or Agent Fowler? What would they do?

Suddenly, Zetta had an idea. Mouthing 'I'll be right back,' he ran off to fetch what he needed.

" **Sasha?"** probed the obsidian-haired woman's voice. **"Are you still there?"**

"Yes! Sorry, I was, er, having a panic moment so I kind of zoned out. I was looking through my backpack when you called and I thought I left one of the books that I needed for homework at school. But I found it!" the Goth said quickly. "Now what was the question?"

" **Is Zetta there?"** the nurse asked again, still polite but now a bit startled.

"No, he's not. To be honest," the nature-lover began but stopped as her partner returned.

She looked it over before looking at him to make sure to which the neutral youth nodded in encouragement.

"To be honest Ms. Darby, Zetta isn't going to be home in a while. You see, I've been really busy with school, the Earth Club, and everything. I didn't want him waiting on me so I told him to go travel a bit. He has access to any place on Earth with the Decepticon Groundbridge. So I told him to use it to his full advantage. He told me that some of the places he's going to can block out his comm. signal but I told him it was okay. He's my friend and I trust him. It's just gonna be for a few days. I got my electric bike and Sawyer always offers me rides. Plus, I want him to see the world. To fully experience all that Earth can offer," Sasha finished explaining, fingers crossed in anticipation as she waited for the single mother's response.

" **I see,"** came the obsidian-haired woman's calm reply, not sounding at all suspicious.

"Yes. Was there a reason, why you wanted to know if he was here?" the raven-haired girl asked carefully.

" **No. I was just curious. Have a goodnight,"** the nurse quickly responded.

"You too, Ms. Darby," Sasha said before hanging up the phone and breathing a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Zetta stated.

"Yeah, no kidding," his friend nodded as they went into the kitchen.

"Alright. Come on, Midnight," the former Cybertronian said as he picked up the feline who had been sitting at his feet before following the Goth.

 _Back at the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

As June put away her phone, she gave the bots a withering look that even made Optimus and Ratchet feel a sliver of apprehension.

"Sasha has no idea that her partner could be in danger because she told him to go use his Groundbridge privileges to travel around. She probably thinks that he's safe and sound somewhere in another part of the world. But in reality, he could be in dire need of medical aid," the single mother snapped before she proceeded to walk to her car. "You all can kiss spending time with the kids this week goodbye. You know why? Because you are all going to use every minute of unused time you have to look for Zetta."

While she spoke to them like a parent speaks to misbehaved children, her tone made them nervous. The Darby matriarch was leaving no room to discuss her decision and the Autobots, especially Optimus and Arcee, knew she had the right. And they knew better to talk back.

As she got into the driver's side of her car and shut the door, she gave the Autobots one last disappointed and angry look, "You know, maybe if you all would, just once, listen to the things Zetta tells you, things would turn out a lot better for you and everyone around you."

And with that, she drove away.

An awkward silence stretched for a minute.

"I need to get going," the government agent said, breaking the silence. "But if I were you Prime, I would get an immediate start on looking for the kid…And think about what Ms. Darby said."

He too left Team Prime to do their own work.

 _Back at Sasha's house a few minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" the mechling-turned-human teen asked as he played with Midnight, waving a stick with glittery string that ended in feathers and laughing as she chased it.

"I'm sure. It's your first day of being human. Relax. Besides, you and Midnight just started playing," the nature-lover responded from her position at the stove.

"Mew," the bundle of dark fur mewled sweetly.

The raven-haired girl focused her attention back on the sesame tofu and vegetable stir fry she was making. She was unsure of how her partner would like the food. She remembered what he said about not being fond of meat eating if he was human but she still couldn't help but worry. The nature-lover was all for encouraging people to eat non-meat alternatives but she felt a bit off about making something for someone who had never even eaten any organic sustenance before. And while she was sure that he had learned enough about Earth cooking to not cause a house fire, she wanted him to relax before he consumed his first taste of human food.

When the veggies and tofu were done, the Goth called out, "Dinner's ready!"

Zetta had immediately come into the smaller dining room and parked himself in his seat before his friend placed his plate in front of him. After pouring him a glass of ice water, she sat down and began consuming her own serving of the meatless cuisine.

Zetta picked up the fork, as he had seen the nature-lover do, and looked down at his plate. The vegetables included zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, and peppers. Both the vegetables and tofu had a tinted brown coloring from the seasonings, marinade, and cooking. It emitted a scent that reminded him of the meals Nephilus or Riversong often brought for him when he went to train. Feeling his mouth salivate, he stabbed a piece of tofu and broccoli with his fork and brought it to his mouth. As he consumed the food from his fork and began chewing, his eyes widened upon swallowing.

"Zetta, is everything alright?" Sasha asked, worriedly looking at the neutral youth.

Her question was answered as he proceeded to pick up a larger fork full of veggies and tofu and happily chow down. It was delicious. The different textures went well with the various flavors that were well combined with the flavors of the seasonings and marinade. He stopped to take a gulp of water and relished in the cold, refreshing feeling of it going down his throat.

"Guess that answers that," Sasha chuckled with a smile.

"This great! I can't believe some people don't like this," Zetta said, almost done with his plate. "It's healthy and you can flavor it however you like."

"Well, some people just like meat. Sometimes it's because of medical issues, like they need lots iron and protein or they're allergic to soy. To each their own" the raven-haired girl responded with a shrug. "I saw the potato chips and the Milky Way with the medical stuff in the supply room. I'm guessing that's from when you stopped the robbery in Salt Lake City, right?"

"Oh, yeah…you heard about that?" the sable-haired boy asked slightly in embarrassment.

"I'm not mad. I was proud…but a little scared for you. Now that you're human, you gotta lay low. Just until we get you back to normal, alright?" Sasha asked patiently.

"Of course," the former Cybertronian nodded sincerely.

Both teens were torn from their conversation when they heard Midnight mewl. They looked down at and laughed when they saw that she had food on her nose and whiskers. Yes, this was going to be an interesting week.

 _On the Nemesis; Third Person Perspective_

Breakdown, Knock Out, and several Vehicons stood before their leader solemnly.

"Still no sign of him, Lord Megatron," the ex-Wrecker said sadly.

"Send the next search group out," the silver mech thundered his command. "I want Zettabyte found and brought back. If by some chance you find evidence that he is in enemy hands tell me. I will personally plan the rescue. And if the explosion has caused him to…pass on early, we will return the pain with full-force to the Autobots."

"Yes sir," Breakdown nodded grimly and quietly as he and the Vehicons left to tell another group.

All the while, the Stunticon was planning the painful lesson that he was silently promising to teach the Autobots, specifically Bulkhead.

Knock Out looked up nervously at the Decepticon leader and spoke, "Lord Megatron, you don't think that Zetta is really…gone, do you?"

The vain mech was certain that he, his partner, and a good chunk of the Vehicons would be devastated if something had happened to the young Cybertronian they had all come to care for.

"You saw how he fended off Optimus' Wrecker oaf soldier. I have every confidence that he's still alive," the ex-gladiator stated firmly. "But _if_ the incident today has caused lethal harm to Zettabyte, I will make sure that false-Prime pays the price…starting with the life one of his own."

 _Three hours later back at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

After finishing dinner, cleaning the dishes (Zetta was a quick learner with the dishwasher), watching _Small Soldiers_ in the family room (Sasha had already finished a majority of her homework during her lunch periods and decided to finish the rest tomorrow), and a bit more time of playing with Midnight, they decided to call it a night.

Thankfully, the Goth was able to find a spare, unopened toothbrush package for him. He chose a green and blue toothbrush. Like dressing, he seemed competent with his brushing, following Sasha's example. Zetta found the sensation odd but not bad, though he did like how the mint flavor was sharp on his mouth. After he finished, she showed him to the room that was extra bedroom that was combined with an office. Midnight had climbed onto the foot of the bed, curled up, and promptly fell asleep. It would seem that the small mammal had chosen to sleep with the neutral youth tonight, almost as though she meant to comfort him during his first night in a human body. Neither former Cybertronian or nature-lover minded. Bidding each other goodnight, they went to slip into bed. Well, Zetta did.

The raven-haired girl was burdened. She couldn't keep Zetta hidden like she had been doing with Midnight at school. However, if she wanted to take him around in public, she'd have to come up with a new, temporary identity for him. A new name, background, explanation for presence, and so on.

Pulling out a notebook that she used as a sketchbook and a black pen, she sat on her bed and began brainstorming.

 _The next day; Third Person Perspective_

Sasha walked into the room just as Zetta was awoken by Midnight's licks to his nose.

Laughing, the mechling-turned-teen boy awoke, "S-Stop! That tickles! Hehe!"

The Goth chuckled as she laid down the new set of clothes and foot wear in front of him, "Welcome to how I get up on the weekdays. She's second to my phone alarm."

"I can see why," the neutral youth gasped once he stopped laughing and began unfolding the new clothes Sasha brought. "I'm really grateful that you are allowing me to use clothing that belonged to your family. Are you certain your cousin won't mind?"

"I'm sure. Jeremy hasn't worn these since his junior year of high school," the nature-lover reassured with a smile. "Get dressed and come down stairs. I think you'll like what we're having for breakfast. And you get to help me make it."

Her partner nodded excitedly as he began dressing as she went downstairs.

 _A few minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

Zettabyte came down in his new attire; a dark ocean, short-sleeved shirt with a pale blue eagle on it over a bluish teal long-sleeve shirt and navy blue jeans. He also wore black and socks with violet and black sneakers. Midnight was following right behind him. Sasha was already down in the kitchen, dressed in an indigo turtleneck with royal purple skull, dark gray skinny jeans, and long, dark iris purple and cyan socks with her combat boots. In front of her were bowls, measuring cups, and ingredients for breakfast.

"Good morning. So what are we making?" the sable-haired boy asked his friend.

"Good morning to you too. And we're making chocolate chip pancakes," the raven-haired girl said with a grin.

"Chocolate? As in the dopamine inducing, pleasurably sugary substance that is practically gobbled down by mostly all the humans on Earth?" the former Cybertronian asked rather shocked but mostly excited.

Sasha giggled, amused by her partner's eagerness to try another human dish, "Yes. A lot of people love it. Both chocolate and pancakes. Especially together. You can make all sorts of combinations. People love to combine food. The trick is to know what combinations taste good and which ones…may not. Like, some people love to mix salty items like nuts, pretzels, or even potato chips with chocolate. Sometimes they love to add spice to it, like adding a little chili powder or cayenne pepper to both savory and sweet dishes. However, while paprika might taste good in soup or main course, I'm not sure how the spicy-sweet lovers may like it…unless they're pregnant."

The former Cybertronian laughed, "Cybertronian food is the same way. Except most of our ingredients and fuel is manufactures or mined. Not a lot of it is grown or gotten from a member of Cybertron's fauna."

His friend smirked in a confident and friendly manner as she held up an unopened bag of Nestle Toll House semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, "Well get ready to have a taste bud experience."

"Mrowr," the female feline purred, situating herself on a chair, ready to watch the show.

 _A few minutes later_

After several minutes of mixing ingredients, carefully ladling generous amounts of batter into a heated pan greased with butter, flipping, and stacking the pancakes onto plates, breakfast was ready. Yes, there had been a sneezing fit due to a flour mist flying up a bit. Plus they had to stop and feed Midnight when she grew bored and hungry of watching them. And maybe the two teens did have trouble stifling the urge to nibble on the remaining chocolate chips so they can use them as garnish. But otherwise, they had succeeded.

"And now the finishing touches," Sasha stated as she grabbed two bowls, one filled with slices bananas while the other with fresh sliced strawberries that had been coated in sugar, a can of whipped cream, and maple syrup.

Zetta watched in awe as his charge doused both stacks in syrup, spray a dollop of whipped cream, spooned the bananas and strawberry slices, and finally sprinkling the remaining chocolate chips over them. The moment the both sat down, they dug in. The neutral youth cut into his stack with his fork, making sure to get pieces of fruit with his pancake pieces, before inserting the fork into his mouth. His eyes widened, nearly making Sasha laugh but she fought against it in favor of eating her food.

"You like it?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Like it? I love it! It's no wonder ancient civilizations like the Mayans thought chocolate was a gift from their gods! The fruit is so refreshing and they add to the buttery flavor and the texture of the pancakes too! And don't get me started on the maple syrup," the sable-haired boy stated giddily as he hungrily devoured another bite of the sweet breakfast.

"Well, I'm glad you like it," the Goth smiled. "And I think now is a good time to talk about your story."

Zettabyte looked at her with confusion as he swallowed his food and wiped his mouth a cloth napkin, "Story?"

"Yes, a background for the human you so you don't have to jump and hide when someone I know sees you with me," the raven-haired girl explained logically. "You ready to hear what I have?"

"Sure," the former Cybertronian nodded, ready and willing.

"Well for starters, your human name is Ezekiel 'Zeke' Torrance. You're the son of one of my maternal grandmother's estranged cousins," the raven-haired girl stated.

"Zeke Torrance…it sounds really cool," the neutral youth agreed with a smile and a nod.

"Your mom is a community volunteer and a part time special education teacher and your father is a government man who helps oversee both war and science departments. You move around a lot because of his job. But due to your high IQ, you skipped a grade, finished all your required high school classes, and you're now just doing online electives," the Goth explained further. "Your mom and dad are currently doing some business in Utah. Your mom heard that I'm staying here and decided to send you to stay with me so you can hang out with family and socialize away from a hectic environment. You're gonna be staying here for a few days or weeks, depending on when your dad is finished with business. We'll go shopping for clothes and other things today when Sawyer picks us up."

"I like it," the neutral youth nodded as he took a sip of his milk. "But what if the teachers try to look at my background through the web and they don't find it? Plus what if your parents call and ask why you're spending your money on items for a person of the opposite gender? And lastly, I think we'll need a pretty good, scientific explanation to explain my unusual heterochromia."

"Well, I was thinking we could ask my friend, Chip for help with that. Although we may have to lie about a few things," the raven-haired girl said, wincing when she saw her partner's uncomfortable look. "I don't like lying to my friends from back home either but unless push comes to shove-"

Her sentence was cut short as Midnight, who had been lapping water, shot her head up with her ears twitching and meowed loudly, "Rowwrr."

She then leaped onto the counter top and looked out the window located where the sink was. At that moment, both teens saw a familiar snowy white shape with two piercing icy blue eyes staring in. Zetta got up and unlocked the window before opening it.

Baylina remained on her perch but crooned as the sable-haired boy scratched her head, "Hoo."

"Well good morning to you too," the mechling-turned-human teen smiled with a chuckle.

As Sasha came over to greet the avian herself, she and Zetta noticed the flat but wide cream-colored box in the beautiful snowy owl's soft and powerful right wing. Taking the envelope whilst Baylina climbed onto "Zeke's" arm, the nature-lover opened it, her "cousin" peeking over as well.

Their jaws dropped as they saw what was inside.

Inside was what look to be a birth certificate, a citizenship card, a credit card, a smaller box, school papers, a iPhone, and several other things needed for the now human Zetta to prove his existence. There was even a picture frame featuring the mechling-turned-human teen with his "mother and father. A woman with the black hair and deep blue eyes in a pale lilac pantsuit and a man, with icy blue eyes and hair that was almost silver, in a dark-gray suit standing beside a smiling "Zeke." To say the two teens were shocked would be an understatement. Picking up the smaller box, the former Cybertronian opened it. Inside he found a folded up piece of paper, a small silver whistle with gold thread and strange glyphs on it, and a small bottle of some dark blue liquid.

Unfolding the paper, they looked at what it read.

 _*Dear Zettabyte and Sasha,_

 _We know about your current situation. Rest assured, we have done all the needed arrangements so as to help you adjust to said situation. We are planning to talk with you later on tonight. Don't try to activate your ghost side, we'll explain why. We will say that the physical changes you have obtained, such as faster reflexes, enhanced strength and speed, and intensified senses, are still with you in your new form. The small whistle will allow you entrance into the Ghost Zone when you come back from your day out. For now, enjoy it._

 _P.S. The contents of the bottle was made courtesy of Venomarra. Just drink it and the eye problem will be solved._

 _Sincerely, Nephilus and Co._

Mismatched eyes met violet ones.

"Well, this is convenient. Strange but thoughtful," the Goth said with a small smile.

"Gotta love the powerful allies who got your back," Zettabyte said cheerfully.

"Meow," the female feline mewled.

"Hoo," the snowy owl hooted before taking flight.

 _Five hours later; Third Person Perspective_

Sasha had just finished the rest of her homework, with a bit of Zetta's help, when she heard a knock at the door.

"Wait here," she told him gently.

While a bit apprehensive, the neutral youth obeyed.

The raven-haired girl got up and walked to the door. Upon opening it, she was greeted by the faces of Sawyer and the Sandersons.

"Good afternoon Sasha. We just came over to check on you," Patrick said politely.

"And I came to get you, of course," Sawyer chuckled with a smile.

"Of course. I'm ready. Wait here a moment," she said before closing the door quietly but quickly.

Grabbing a large black purse where she put her phone, wallet, a jacket, and her relaxed feline companion (who she planned to drop off with Sawyer's grandmother), she looked at her sable-haired male counterpart, "It's time. You got your phone and your wallet?"

"Yes I do," he said, patting both pockets as he followed her towards the door.

True to the letter's word, drinking the elixir made his mismatched eyes an exotic deep ocean blue.

Opening the door, she peeked out and said to the small audience, "I would like you guys to meet someone."

Their looks turned into ones of curiosity and shock as she stepped out of the house, quickly followed by Zetta, "This is Ezekiel Torrance. He's my cousin on my Grandma Marguerite's side."

"Call me Zeke. It's a pleasure to meet you," "Zeke" said politely, holding out his hand to shake.

"Well hello to you too," Nora Sanderson said, smiling and shaking his hand after a moment of shock. "I have to say we weren't expecting you."

"It was a surprise to me too. He arrived really late last night," the Goth said quickly as the other shook his hand. "Zeke's dad, Meino Torrance, is a man of government and he travels a lot. Zeke and his mom, my grandma's third cousin Theodora, travel with him."

"And where are they?" the middle-aged brunette man asked with intrigued.

"They're in Utah. My mom sent me here when she heard through the family grape vine that Sasha was here. She wanted me to be in a quiet environment and to spend time with family," the sable-haired boy spoke up with a kind voice. "And you heard about what happened in a CVS in Utah yesterday? Well, I guess you can say my mom was right to send me here."

"I heard. My goodness, it's like the society can't decide on whether to be safe or dangerous," the blonde haired woman said, a hand pressed against her chest as her husband nodded.

"Guess it must be hard moving around, huh?" the African American boy said with a bit of sympathy.

"Actually, not so much. I take online classes and my mom is a part time special education teacher. She often takes me with her and I meet all kinds of kids. It's actually fun meeting different people. And it's not like I'm totally alone. I have friends. My parents pay me a lot of attention. And I get to talk with mature and intellectual people who they know," the neutral youth spoke up with a friendly smile.

"How long will you be staying?" Nora asked kindly.

"Until my dad is done with his business in Utah. He's meeting with several people. Former veterans, military doctors, a lot of people," the former Cybertronian explained.

"Sasha, does anyone else in your family know Zeke is here?" Patrick asked.

"Well, no," the Goth admitted in embarrassment. "You see…Zeke's dad-"

"Didn't come from an upper class family," the mechling-turned-human teen said immediately. "He had to work himself to the bone to get where he was. And not a lot of people were supportive when my mom married him. That's why you didn't know I existed. They kind of estranged themselves from the rest of the family. But if you wish for me to-"

"No, it's alright. We understand. Trust me," the middle-aged man said quickly, understanding what the teen was saying.

Nora Sanderson, previously known as Nora Colton, had belonged to an upper-middle class family where as he had grown up in a modest lower middle class family. Even now, many of his in-laws, he was sure, were still not too eager to call him and his kin family, with the exception of his and Nora's son.

"Will you be attending school with us? I mean, even though you have a online classes," the soccer player asked in a friendly manner.

"I finished all my required classes. Now I'm just taking online electives, like music appreciation," "Zeke" replied modestly.

"My, you're an intelligent young man, aren't you," Nora cooed in a soft tone.

"Thank you. I'm sure Scott is the same way. Sasha told me he's in Japan. It's a shame I can't meet him in person. You must have raised him to be cultured and equally educated for him to be allowed to travel to another country. But that shouldn't be a surprise, considering how he was brought up by such kind and sophisticated adults as yourselves," Zetta stated with sincerity and gentleness. "You must be proud to know that all your hard work will lead to him becoming a compassionate and focused individual such as yourselves."

"Why thank you. That means so much," the blonde haired woman said gratefully.

"I gotta admit, it's nice that he's learning about independence and how other cultures work. Especially considering how some boys, like that Vince kid, seem to think that street racing is a sure fire way to get through life rather than focusing on a scholarship," the brunette man huffed, shaking his head in disgust before asking the sable-haired boy. "How about you, Zeke?"

"Well, I'm more of a out doors activities person. Hiking, climbing, jogging, swimming, all of that," the former Cybertronian stated. "But in all seriousness, my main interest is science. I want to help people through technology and medicine."

That earned him an approving nod from the couple.

"Hey, I've seen those clothes before. Aren't those Jeremy's clothes?" Sawyer asked with confusion.

"Yes, they are," Zettabyte answered honestly. "Somehow on the bus ride here, the suitcase that held most of my clothing was misplaced and it's taking them a while to find it. Sasha was kind enough to lend me Jeremy's clothes. Don't worry, I plan to buy new clothes for myself today. I really don't want to bother my parents. Trust me, their schedules are busy enough."

"I'm down with that. I was planning to buy a couple new clothes myself," the soccer player nodded.

"I see. Well, there's no harm," the blonde woman responded. "I just hope you choose proper clothing and nothing that has inappropriate writing on it."

"Yes ma'am," both African American teen and sable-haired boy promised in unison.

They stared at one another in surprise before they both laughed.

"Sasha, I think I'm gonna like your cousin," Sawyer smiled, wrapping an arm around "Zeke's" shoulders.

"And from what Sasha has told me about you, I know the feeling will be mutual," the neutral youth laughed.

"Well, you kids better go off and do whatever it is that you planned for today," the brunette man nodded. "Be safe though."

"We will," the nature-lover promised as the three teens began making their way to the SUV.

 _Thirty-five minutes later; Third Person Perspective_

"So Zeke, how well does your mom know Sasha's paternal family?" Adalia asked, trying to keep herself from smacking into him as her fellow culinary enthusiast drove the SUV.

Sawyer had stopped by his house to leave Midnight with his grandmother before they all went to pick up the other two. It was there that he allowed his French female friend to take the wheel.

"She only knows them by reputation. As you can guess, it's kind of hard for her to interact with them when we're moving from place to place," Zettabyte said with a shrug. "But she knows they're good people."

"I'll say. Jeremy and his sisters use to help set things up for events at school, like the dances, or community events, like the block parties," the soccer player said from where he was bouncing involuntarily in the passenger seat. "Easy, Colette."

"And their parents were always at every PTA meeting with great ideas and really good snacks, from what my parents told me," Colette added, thankfully never taking her eyes off the road.

"You know, Sasha tells us that you're a vegetarian and sometimes vegan yourself," the young Latina put in.

"Well, I guess you can say that traveling the world and seeing all the different creatures of nature kind of nullifies your taste for burgers or anything that is made through killing livestock. Especially if they're mistreated," the sable-haired boy answered with a affirmative nod. "Plus, my mother herself was big on healthy eating."

"Well, that's fine by us. You do what you do," the African American teen looked back at him with a smile which the former Cybertronian returned.

Sasha grinned as she watched her "cousin" interact with her human friends, feeling a nearly overwhelming sensation of joy and pride. It made her happy to see the people she cared about mingle peacefully. The pride came from the fact that in spite of Zetta's lack of proper socializing with the adolescents of his own kind for so long, he was able to converse with her companions in such a friendly manner.

Meanwhile Zetta himself was feeling giddy by the fact that he was meeting the people that his charge spoke so highly of. Granted, he was a bit unnerved by the auburn-haired girl's slightly unskilled driving, but he couldn't really complain. His new organic digits twitched in anticipation, impatient for them to arrive to their destination.

Just as he was sure that he was about to go mad with eagerness, he saw where they had arrived at. A large strip mall came in to view. While, to Zetta at least, it looked to be just one large, horizontal building, the signs and window displays showed that each had its own style and personality. Colette managed to carefully pull up into the parking lot and parked under the shade of a small tree. A familiar group of kids approached the vehicle. The group included Juliet, Kenya, Lacey, Amanda, Alan, and Joaquin.

The moment the mechling-turned-human teen opened the door and stepped out, shock ran through the club members.

"This is my cousin, Zeke. He's gonna be staying with me for a bit. I invited him to hang out today," Sasha quickly explained.

"Hello," "Zeke" said kindly as he stood by his "cousin."

Not a minute passed before the looks of shock turned into looks of curiosity and friendliness. They all shook his hand eagerly, introducing themselves individually.

"So, where should we go first?" Colette asked.

"Well, I think we should check out the book store," the Goth suggested helpfully.

The others nodded and they walked to a building that had a red sign that read _Louisa's Book Emporium_. Entering the store, they were welcomed by the jingle of a bell and the scent of paper and some sort of faint scent that was akin to perfume or coffee. The floor was covered in a biscuit-colored carpet and the walls were a faded light blue. Wooden, two-sided bookshelves were scattered about, plastic papers labeling the different genres. A few bean bags and tables with chairs dotted the back of store, no doubt a place for the customers to sit and read, rest, or talk. Today, it seemed empty. The group went their separate ways to search for anything that piqued their interest.

Zettabyte walked over to the space between two bookshelves, labeled horror and mystery. Just as he was about to grab a book, he heard a mewl. Looking down, he was surprised to see a tiny pitch black kitten with baby blue eyes staring up at him.

"Mew," the small feline meowed again, before pawing at his leg.

"Well, hello there," the neutral youth smiled as he bend down to pick up the tiny bundle of fur.

However, the kitten didn't give him a chance. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the soft black fur, the baby cat bounded away.

"Wait!" the sable-haired boy called out in a whisper, as not to call attention to the small animal which probably wasn't allowed in the store.

He chased the creature around the store, careful to keep an eye out for employees and other customers. Seeing, the tip of a small black tail disappear behind a rather tall and wide bookshelf, Zetta followed.

He nearly gasped at what he saw.

The woman, the same one who had helped him yesterday to stop the robbers, held a black-haired and blue-eyed boy, no older than three-years-old, in her arms. Beside her, was a tall dark-haired man with tanned skin and dark brown eyes. The man was dressed in a white, buttoned down collar shirt and ivory slacks. The woman was dressed in a cream-colored skirt and pale peach-colored short-sleeved blouse. And the little boy was in tan shorts and a white cotton shirt.

The woman seemed surprised. Her eyes squinted at the neutral youth before they widened in what looked like realization. Then she smiled.

"Zeke, did you find anything you like?" Adalia asked as she and the others came over.

That's when they saw what "Zeke" was staring at.

"Zeke, who are these people? Do you know them?" Joaquin asked with confusion.

"In a way. We have crossed paths with Zeke before," the woman spoke, voice like silk.

"We are the Fellidays. My name is Gillian," the man said with a polite nod and a smile.

"I'm Liliosa," the woman added before bouncing the young boy in her arms. "And this is our son, Cyrill."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Sasha stated, trying to keep the nervousness growing in her stomach down. "How do you know Zeke?"

"We rode on the same bus together," Liliosa explained. "Some ruffians who were sitting behind us kept harassing us."

"And this young man was brave enough to alert an off-duty cop who was right beside him," Gillian finished as he patted the mechling-turned-human teen's shoulder.

Zettabyte blushed and gave an embarrassed smile as the group other nodded in approval and complimented him.

"It was good to see you again, Zeke. But we really must be on our way," Liliosa said, and before anyone could say anything, they were out the door.

A few minutes later, the other teens went back to look at the books they were interested in. All except the raven-haired girl and her sable-haired "cousin." They were still looking bewildered.

"Zetta, how do you know that woman?" Sasha hissed a bit frantically.

"She's the one…the one who helped me stopped the robbers yesterday," the former Cybertronian whispered back.

Sasha stared at her partner as if he grew two-heads before asking, "Really?! But then, how did she know who you were?"

"I-I don't know. I was following this kitten that somehow got into the store when I ran into her," Zettabyte quickly explained. "I don't know where it ran off to…unless…"

"Unless what?" the Goth asked.

The neutral youth didn't answer as he quickly strode over to the front of the store and looked out. He saw no sign of the family of three.

However, he did notice that just a few meters away. Two black cats and a small kitten, the same kitten, were trotting away from the strip mall.

 _Meanwhile at the Darby residence; Third Person Perspective_

"Thank you for having me over Ms. Darby," Raf said politely from where he sat with Jack on the living room couch.

"You're welcome Raf. I should actually be thanking you for coming over to help Jack with all these assignment," June replied with a smile.

The assignments in question was homework that Jack got an extension on due to his injury and extra credit that the teachers gave him to help him out.

"I'll just be out in the garden if you boys need anything," the Darby matriarch said gently.

"Alright Mom," Jack nodded with a smile before his mother went outside to tend to her flowers and other tamed flora.

It's then when he noticed the look of worry in his younger friend's eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong Raf?" the obsidian-haired boy asked with concern.

"I can't stop thinking about Zetta. I wonder if he's alright," the computer protégé explained, voice filled faint sorrow and nervousness.

Not too long after his mother returned from the Bots' base, she had told him what had happened. Suffice to say, Jack was horrified and didn't dare question or counter his mother's declaration that, until the ruby and sapphire mechling was found, he, Raf, and Miko under any circumstances were allowed to hang out with their partners. The nurse had even gone to the Sandersons, told them that she was there to ask about any rumors that circulated around any hazing at the school, and had explained everything to the Asian girl once they were alone. His mother had told him that Miko had been upset but understood. Even if she hadn't, she was still grounded anyway.

"If I had known that yesterday afternoon would've been the last time I saw him, I would've done something greater than give him some dumb little thanks," the preteen whispered sadly.

"Hey, hey don't talk like that," the junior reprimanded sternly but gently. "Zetta knows how grateful you were for his deeds. And yesterday isn't the last you'll see of him! We're gonna see him again, safe and unharmed. I know it."

Jack was surprised by how assured he sounded of himself.

That surprise turned into anger. Zetta would reappear soon, that much he was sure of. But what about Sasha? Surely she would start becoming worried and suspicious in a few days if her partner didn't contact her. He dreaded crossing paths with her, knowing that he held serious information about her partner's welfare. His rage was towards himself and the bots. What had he done to deserve this? What crime had he committed that made him a carrier to the knowledge that his classmate's guardian could be in danger thanks to his own protectors? How could the Bots condemn him and his friends to a miserable, unknown length of time of seeing Sasha everyday and fighting the urge to blab to her about what happened?

The obsidian-haired boy knew it was unfair to blame the Bots, but he was scared and frustrated and wanted someone to blame who wasn't his mother or his human friends.

Raf looked at his older human friend.

Jack forced a convincing smile, "You'll see. He'll be back. And we'll never lose him again."

 _Back at the strip mall an hour and a half later; Third Person Perspective_

"Alright, who's ready for lunch?" Alan asked the group.

After shopping for books, cooing over the animals in the pet store, and shopping for new clothes (especially in "Zeke's" case), everyone was feeling extremely ravenous. They all raised their hands and shouted "I am" before laughing. They trotted over to a small diner called, in a pale blue and white neon sign, _Hal & Mel's Diner_.

Entering the eatery, the scent of savory meals and the sound of Keith Urban's "Sweet Thing." The floor was composed of clean white and sky blue tiles and the seats and tables ranged from padded booths for six people to padded seats at the counter to small royal blue tables that ranged from having two to four chairs. Small ceiling lamps hung above each booth alongside ceiling fans. Zetta took a booth with Sasha, Sawyer, Colette , Adalia, and Juliet. Lacey, Kenya, Amanda, Joaquin, and Alan all took a booth right in front of them.

A waitress who looked to be in her late twenties with olive skin, honey-colored eyes, and ebony hair, came up to them menus under her left arm arm and her notepad and pen in her left hand. She wore a lovely pale blue uniform dress with a white apron. She wore a white name tag with the name Crystal.

"Hi, my name is Crystal and I'll be your server today. I'll give you guys time to look at the menus and specials. If you need anything, just holler," she said in a friendly tone before walking away to give the group some time.

"I'll think I'll get a…Sprite to drink. Is it me or does the word sprite remind me of the synonym for a fairy?" the sable-haired boy asked curiously.

That caused the others, including Sasha, to chuckle.

"I like you, Zeke," Juliet grinned.

Zetta's cheeks blushed in modesty. After several minutes, all the teens had decided on what they wanted. The drinks ranged from sodas to lemonade to ice tea. For appetizers, artichoke and spinach dip and bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. A few of them, like the Goth and her "cousin" had gotten salads like Berry Apple Nut and a black bean and grilled peach salad. The entrees ranged from a Philly Steak sandwich for Sawyer to oven-roasted vegetables with a apricot glaze for Kenya.

Crystal had taken their orders as she said, "I'll be back in a jiff."

As the teens proceeded to conversate, the neutral youth blinked as he heard whispering. It was low but still audible. He looked behind his seat to see a woman with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes in the booth right behind theirs. She looked to be near her early forties but still very young and attractive looking. She wore glasses and a light tan pantsuit. She spoke meekly into her phone.

"What do you mean you're not going to Stacia's funeral?" the woman asked.

" **I meant what I said. I'm not going. I'm glad that manipulative witch is dead,"** the voice of another woman snapped from the phone.

"She was our friend," the sandy-haired woman weakly protested.

" **No, she wasn't. She was an egocentric prima donna who tried to control my life just like she controlled yours and the others. I moved so I could get away from that and everything that happened and start fresh. There is no way I'm gonna spoil that by going to her funeral where I'll get hounded by her cronies,"** the caller's voice snarled stubbornly.

"Those cronies were your friends and classmates too. _I_ was your friend," the middle-aged woman practically begged.

" **You** _ **were**_ **my friends. But you all forfeited that when you sided with her and threatened to use me as a scapegoat. I wasn't about to put up with it. You all made your beds and now you'll lie in them until the day you die,"** the unknown caller hissed acidly. **"I don't need this bull. My youngest just went off to Yale. August and I are going to fly to the Mediterranean this weekend to celebrate his parents' retirement. I'm not going to let you drag me back into the past. If you, Leslie, Brandy, or Candice contact me, I will file a restraining order against you. Now, goodbye."**

Before the woman had a chance to object, the mechling-turned-human teen heard the beep that signaled a hang up. He turned his attention back to the group, but that didn't stop him from hearing the woman's quiet sobs.

Thankfully, before he could dwell on the private incident anymore, Crystal came back with their orders.

 _An hour later; Third Person Perspective_

As the teens paid for their meals, tipping Crystal in the process, they all began to exit the diner.

Until Lacey stopped, causing her companions to do the same.

"What is it Lacey?" Amanda asked with concern.

The mousy brown-haired girl, with a look of anxiousness plastered on her face, pointed.

Their heads all turned to look where she was pointing.

The raven-haired girl and sable-haired boy felt their hearts stop in panic.

A familiar green SUV was parked diagonal of the diner, facing away from them.

"Oh, it's that guy," Juliet sniffed.

"You know him?" "Zeke" asked in surprised, confused about how his partner's friends new his rival.

"Course we do. It's that dirty thug that Miko hangs with," Amanda spat resentfully, glaring at the offending vehicle.

"We've seen him around school a lot," Kenya added nervously. "Picking up Miko. She's never explained who he is."

"And we've seen him around town whenever there's trouble brewing," Juliet put in. "There is no freakin way that he is friends with the Sandersons or any of the adults in this town for that matter."

"My sister says she's seen that guy around, fighting with some people in these strange purple cars," Amanda shivered in disgust. "She says that Jasper might be getting a gang problem. And from the looks of it, she may just be right."

"I'm tempted to call the cops. He just scares me," Lacey stated.

"That's nothing," Sawyer suddenly spoke up. "The jerk drove Miko and Sasha to the monster truck show the first day Sasha came to school. Didn't even ask if she knew where he was taking her."

The others, excluding Addie and Colette, gasped. Sasha turned to see her "cousin" swallowing hard. Good Primus, what kind impression was Bulkhead giving the people of Jasper? What kind of relationship was Team Prime trying to build with humanity?

"Well, whatever reason he's here for, we won't let him ruin our day. C'mon guys, let's go to _Lala's Ice Cream Parlor_ ," Alan said quickly, ushering his friends out the door and to the shop just a few feet away.

No sooner had they stepped inside the shop did they start to ease little by little. A friendly looking young man with red hair and green eyes stood at the counter, dressed in his yellow and purple uniform. The only people in there was an old couple and what looked to be their grandchildren, a college-aged young couple, a pregnant woman, and one or two of the people that they saw at the diner. The most noticeable of the people was another couple; a business man on his phone who looked to be in his late thirties and a bored-looking, overly glamorous young woman who looked to barely be nineteen.

The group paid no attention as they chose their ice cream flavors, their choice of cone or cup, and their toppings. It just so happened that as Zettabyte was paying for his own ice cream, a double scoop of Rocky Road in a chocolate dipped and nut covered waffle cone with a crumbled Heath bar on top, did the young woman noticed his silver and black credit card. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets by how expensive looking the card itself was.

As Zetta was handed back his credit card, he pulled out a twenty dollar bill and a ten dollar one and put it in the tip jar.

The server's mouth dropped open in shock before it curled into a gleeful smile, "Thanks man!"

"No, thank you for your service," the sable-haired boy said with a friendly smile as he proceeded to follow his friends outside, licking his cone.

That certainly sealed the deal for the young woman. Checking to make sure her older meal ticket was still preoccupied with arguing with his co-manager, she prepared to slip out of the shop to woo her next conquest.

But she never got the chance.

A man in black jeans and a cobalt hoodie with black flames and black sneakers entered the shop, blocking the young woman from leaving. His head was down and his hands were in his pockets.

"Hey, move it!" she snapped in irritation.

"I don't think so…Rhonda," the guy, quite older but not by much, breathed with ice in his tone. "I know what you're planning to do…and it won't work."

Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes met his burning indigo ones.

Outside, the teens were too busy staring at the empty spot where the green SUV had been, wondering where it went.

 _Half an hour later in the desert; Third Person Perspective_

Bulkhead growled as he was held down by the group of Vehicons and Eradicons.

He had just been parked in the parking lot of the strip mall to catch his breath after several hours of patrol and searching for Zetta with no results. Then not fifteen minutes after he parked, did three familiar purple muscle cars zoom by. He didn't hesitating. Or calling for back up.

Now, he wish he had.

Even if he could get his arms, free he had no doubt that his captors were blocking the signal. He grunted as they pressed him harder into the ground, nearly making it impossible for him to intake air. But the drones would not let it up. Their strength, fueled by the rage invoked by their enemy, was intensified.

"Here he comes," one of them said, looking forward.

Both his brethren and their captor looked up to see the oncoming form of the Stunticon's vehicle mode. The moss-colored mech ignored the dread in his spark as he heard some of the look-alike soldiers snicker in malicious glee. They all quieted down as the Decepticon brawler transformed and stomped towards them.

Unsheathing his hammer, the ex-Wrecker asked his former friend, in a seething tone, "Hello, Bulkhead. Comfortable?"

The former construction mech snarled, "Not in the slightest."

"Good," Breakdown said nastily. "I don't want you too comfy…especially with what we're gonna do to you."

"Oohh, I'm so scared," Bulkhead mocked spitefully.

Good optic glowing with rage, the Decepticon brawler leaned closer and whispered in a deathly tone, "You should be."

In one quick and powerful movement, Breakdown brought his hammer down hard on the Wrecker's left arm, eliciting a powerful crack and grunt of pain from the moss-colored mech.

"Imagine…this doesn't come close to the harm I really want to do to you," the blue mech growled. "Especially after what you did."

Bulkhead only uttered a quiet grumble from his ex-friend.

"If we don't find Zetta or if we do find him and he's far from alright," the Stunticon voice said in barely contained hate. "You won't be walking away from our little beat downs.

Here is the second chapter, finally! Sorry about the long wait and the cliffhanger, I haven't been feeling very well. But I'm getting back on track. And for those who didn't know, Joshua Joyce is the guy who owns the Transformium company, KSI, in _Transformers; Age of Extinction_ and Thaddeus Morocco is the villain scientist from _Transformers Rescue Bots._ And Fellidays is the play on the scientific Greek/Latin name for the cat family, _Felidae._

Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading! Feel free to give well constructed criticism.


	3. Chapter 3: Another Day Out

Chapter 3: Another Day Out

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

"See you Sawyer! Thanks for the rides!" Sasha called out, holding Midnight in her arms.

"We had a great time! Can't wait to hang out tomorrow!" Zetta added as he too waved with a smile.

"You're welcome! And ditto. See you guys tomorrow!" Sawyer responded, waving as he drove away.

No sooner had their friend disappeared from sight did the two teens and cat go inside the house. The day had gone surprisingly well. After ice cream, they all had gone to the _Go-Go Arcade_ to play a few video games. "Zeke" did have trouble with it at first, stating that it was due to his parents introducing him to more intellectual activities like reading and writing and physical activities like camping, but he soon got the hang of it. After fifteen minutes of playing, they all had headed to the movies to watch _The Visit_. Once the movie was over, they spent a twenty minutes, sitting outside and munching on the rest of their movie snacks as they planned to hang out the next day. Suffice to say, they were all in agreement. The next day, they would check out Colette's great aunt's candy store, the pie shop, and a few other places.

Midnight jumped from the nature-lover's arms and proceeded to rub herself against their ankles, purring, "Mew."

"I see why you like those guys so much. They're friendly, hilarious, and fun!" the neutral you complimented happily.

"I know," the raven-haired girl grinned.

As she set down her bag on the coffee table, she picked up the flute they had been given that morning. Zettabyte looked at the tiny instrument as well.

"We probably should go to the Ghost Zone. Nephilus and the others must be there already, waiting to talk to us," the former Cybertronian stated quickly.

"My thoughts exactly," the Goth nodded as she offered the whistle to her friend. "Would you mind doing the honor?"

"Delighted to," the sable-haired boy nodded with a smile as he took the whistle.

Bringing it to his fleshy lips, he blew short note gently.

Three seconds later, a familiar green and black portal appeared. Tucking the whistle into one of his pockets and catching Midnight, who immediately jumped into his arms, the mechling-turned-human teen stepped through the portal. Sasha was not far behind.

The moment they stepped into the other dimension, both dark-haired teens found themselves before the tall spirits. While Sasha and Midnight stared up at them calmly, Zetta felt awkward as he lifted his head just enough to make eye/optic contact with his allies. As a Cybertronian the neutral youth hadn't been exactly eye level to them, but he had been tall enough to look them in their optics without lifting his head a great deal.

The raven-haired girl realized someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Nephilus?" the Goth asked, noticing that her "cousin's" mentor was not among the group.

"He'll be here in a moment. He…needed to take care of something," Clockwork stated quietly.

A moment later, the portal opened again. And out came the missing guider of souls appeared.

"Sorry I'm late," the cobalt mech said quickly as he took his place beside the wolf femme. "The…errand took longer than I expected. Hello Zetta, Sasha, Midnight."

"Hey Nephilus," both human teens said in unison.

"Rowrrr," the black feline meowed from her place in the sable-haired boy's arms.

"Let us begin," Dracorra announced. "Zettabyte, the chemical that had splashed onto you did indeed cause your change in species."

"But why?" came Zetta's next question.

"The chemical was derived from a special stone that has been kept hidden from the humans for eons," Venomarra spoke up next. "The stone is Metamorphesite. It when crushed into some mixture or exposed to an organism for an extended period, it changes the organism. Sometimes it changes them fully. Sometimes it turns them into hybrids. For you, it changed you fully."

"A few of the legendary creatures you know, like unicorns, mermaids, griffins, and such, were results of exposure to this type of stone," Riversong explained. "We did manage to change most of them back. However, the rest…weren't as agreeable. You see, for some, the stone enhanced their talents and abilities."

"Sirens for example, either of the mermaid or bird-woman variety, were often adequate, if not gifted singers, before their change. The stone gave their voices the power to attract men. And, as you can imagine…that power corrupted them," Karmaro explained gravely. "We had no choice but to…lock them away."

Zettabyte gulped, "You…you don't think-?"

"No, no, no. It's different for you. The other ingredients changed the Metamorphesite to the point where it only speeded up your transformation," Nephilus reassured.

"Is there a way to turn him back?" the Goth asked, her voiced laced with concern.

"Yes. But it will take us some time. This has never happened to a sentient, inorganic being before," the spirit of time responded with a nod. "For now though, Zettabyte must live as a normal human being. And that includes not using his powers. For various reasons. One of them being that he needs to blend in at the moment. Another is that using them in this form may cause them to grow use to this organic form which will lead to physical trouble when we change him back."

Both dark-haired teens nodded.

"Mew," Midnight purred as she nuzzled the former Cybertronian's chest.

"The fluid that I gave you to drank will keep your eyes blue until your changed back," the potions spirit spoke up again.

"And while you can't access your powers, your physical enhancements are accessible," Jadeluck put in. "However, your metabolism has been raised due to the chemical."

"Which is why I Venomarra and I made these," Terrana stated as she lowered her hand to reveal and human sized pill bottle.

Handing Midnight to Sasha, Zetta took the bottle from the nature spirit. It was pure white with a bright green label covered with "Zeke's" information. He opened it and inside were pale lilac capsules.

"They're supplements made from Nectar and other herbs from my garden," Terrana stated. "They'll give you energy and keep you from getting hunger pains."

The mechling-turned-human teen couldn't help but smile, "Thank you. All of you. I'm not sure how I'll ever be able to repay you."

The spirit of phoenixes and dragons smiled gently, "There's no need. We're glad to help."

"You always have our support, Zettabyte. Never forget that," wolf femme said gently with a smile.

The nature-lover and neutral youth nodded with smiles.

"If you ever need to come to us, we're just a whistle blow away," Nephilus said, as he used his scythe to create a portal for the two humans and their furry companion.

Bidding their friends goodbye, Sasha and "Zeke" left, happy knowing that they had such great beings on their side.

 _Meanwhile at the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

Optimus and his two other soldiers watched as their medic worked diligently worked on their comrade.

When the Wrecker hadn't returned from his shift, the Prime knew something was amiss. Driving through the desert with his scout by his side, the former archivist had come upon the moss-colored mech.

The mech was unconscious, laying in a puddle of his own Energon. No part of him had been left unscratched or undented. Quite a few chunks of metal were missing, though none that looked vital, thankfully.

The Autobot leader and the team's mechling didn't waste any time in alerting Ratchet and calling in a Groundbridge. They had transported their teammate as quickly and gently as possible. No sooner had they placed him on the berth did the Autobot CMO begin working to patch up the former construction mech.

Now here they were.

Several minutes later, Ratchet stepped away from his patient.

The other bots watched as he wiped his servos, sighing, "He's gonna be alright."

An air of relief swept through the base.

 **[How long until he's conscious?]** Bumblebee asked, still worried.

"I'd say a few hours. Maybe tomorrow evening," the veteran medic stated in a logical tone.

"We will wait until then to do anything else," Optimus stated firmly. "We'll proceed when he tells us what happened."

 **[But isn't it obvious? The Cons ambushed him!]** the yellow and black Autobot stated abruptly.

"He means the reason why they ambushed Bulkhead, Bee," the femme stated in reasoning tone.

"And I fear that it's related to Zettabyte's disappearance," the Prime stated gravely.

All of the conscious Autobots tensed in apprehension. But perhaps the most tense was Arcee. Had one of the fear come true? Had something happened to Zetta? Did the Cons know some kind of terrible information on the whereabouts of the ruby and sapphire mechling? If so, what?

 _Please, Primus, let him be okay. Don't take him away too,_ she silently pleaded.

As if reading her thoughts, the Autobot leader then said, "We can only hope that what Bulkhead has to say involves something positive about Zetta's state of being."

 _The next day at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

"So, what's human school like? You know, from your perspective," Zettabyte asked over his and Sasha's breakfast of soy eggs, soy sausage, hash browns, whole grain toast, and breakfast fruit smoothies.

Both teens had slept in and were currently eating a late breakfast. It was half past ten and some time before Sawyer would come get them.

Taking a sip from her smoothie, which was mixed berry, the Goth replied, "It's pretty cool actually. Back when I lived in New York, it was pretty hectic. Kids either running to class or fooling around in the hallway. Teachers being strict because when you have a student body over 700, you have to be. Classmates getting excited every time the teacher stepped outside, like summer break came early. Then at the end of the day, it's like a stampede. And of course there's the club members and sports teams fighting constantly."

Seeing the shocked and slight apprehensive look on her "cousin's" face, the nature-lover quickly spoke, "But Memorial High is different. Many of the students are nice, the teachers are easy-going, the clubs are sports teams are pretty civil with each other, and it's not a total stampede after school. Plus, as long as you have friends, you'll have nothing to worry over."

Sipping his orange smoothie, "Zeke"smiled, "Then I can't wait to start tomorrow."

The raven-haired girl returned the smile.

Once they finished breakfast and cleaned the dishes, the two teens went to change for their day out. They came back down in their new attire. Sasha wore a dark brown shirt with a tawny cheetah on the front with dark blue-gray skinny jeans and gray tennis shoes. Her hair was in ponytail and her fingernails were painted a darker brown, almost black, with a yellowish tan sun on her left thumb nail. Zetta wore a green v-neck with stormy blue denims and white and pine green Nikes.

Their small furry companion was laying on the couch, washing her face and purring, "Prrrrrr."

As Sasha once again gently put the female feline into the same large black purse from the day before, they heard a knock at the door. Zetta went to go answer the door. Opening it, he was pleased to see that it was Sawyer.

"Hey Zeke. Are you and Sasha ready to leave?" Sawyer asked in cheery tone.

"We certainly are," the former Cybertronian responded happily in a friendly tone of his own. "Sasha, Sawyer's here!"

The moment he finished the sentence, the raven-haired girl appeared by her "cousin's" side.

"Hey Sawyer. Let's go," Sasha grinned.

The soccer-player bowed and said in a posh tone, "This way my lady."

Both dark-haired teens laughed as they followed their friend to the SUV.

 _On the Nemesis; Third Person Perspective_

Knock Out looked up from where he was sorting his tools when he heard the sound of someone entering his medbay. He discovered that it was only his partner.

And, to the vain mech's dismay, there was no sign of Zettabyte with the Stunticon.

"Any sign of him?" the Decepticon CMO asked hopefully, though he already knew the answer.

Breakdown looked down and shook his helm in negative answer, "No. Not yet. But we're still looking. We won't lose hope."

"I should've gone with last night. My one chance to exact some well-deserved pain on that dingy oaf for what he did to the kid and I miss it," Knock Out spoke heatedly as he gazed back at his tools.

"There will be other times Knock Out. For now, let's just focus on finding the Zetta, alright?" the ex-Wrecker asked to which his partner nodded.

Just as he turned around to leave the medbay, the Decepticon brawler heard his friend speak.

"He has her optics."

Twisting around, Breakdown stared at the ruby medic as he asked, "What?"

"My carrier had mismatched optics like Zetta. Her left one was an amber color while her right one was a golden yellow. Different from his, I know. But still, when I look at him I'm reminded of her. Her kindness, her intelligence, and her open-mindedness," Knock Out spoke, still looking at the ground. "It's ridiculous I know, but being with that mechling…makes me feel like I have family again."

"That doesn't sound ridiculous at all," the blue mech countered softly.

The vain medic didn't respond.

The ex-Wrecker left his partner to his thoughts.

 _Meanwhile at a farther part of the strip mall; Third Person Perspective_

"Zeke" happily jumped out of the SUV once it was parked, high fiving Joaquin, "Good to see you again."

"You too," Joaquin laughed.

Sasha grinned at her "cousin." It seemed that her partner becoming human had opened an opportunity for him to come out of his shell. Yes, he had been a bit out-going the past few weeks but the slight remainder of the shy mechling who had first arrived was still stuck quite a bit on him. To see him openly friendly and talkative with others made her have hope for him to fully shed the last of his recluse traits.

"So, what do we do first?" Juliet asked, openly waiting for any of her friends to say something.

Before anyone could offer an option, they heard screaming and shouting.

"Give it back you jerk!"

"Make me, nerdette."

All heads twisted to see what the commotion was. They were shocked and horrified to see two tall and intimidating teen boys harassing two teen girls who looked to be a few years younger than them. One of the boys had a white and powder blue backpack in his hold and a group of papers, laughing maliciously as he held them high out of the reach of the girl, no doubt the rightful owner, jumping for them. Her friend was being held back by her tormentor's friend who goaded his buddy's cruel display.

"We need to go over and stop them!" Amanda spoke fiercely, teeth visibly gritting in a snarl.

"Zeke?!" Kenya asked in surprise as her club member's "cousin" began approaching the strangers.

The sable-haired teen didn't seem to have heard her as he continued forward. The group had no choice but to follow him.

"HEY!" Zettabyte snapped loudly as soon as he was close enough.

All four strange teens turned to stare at him. The former Cybertronian took that moment to stomp right up to the boy who had the backpack and papers. In one swift move, too swift for any human, he snatched them away.

"These. Are. NOT. Yours. _Punk_ ," he spat acidly before handing the possessions over to the boy's victim. "There you go."

"T-Thank you," the girl, a dirty blonde, stuttered a shaky reply.

The mechling-turned-human teen nodded before turning to the other boy, "And you. Unless you wanna be charged with assault, _let her go_."

The other girl, a red-head, took advantage of her captor's surprise and apprehension to rip out of his grasp and rush to her friend's side.

Directing his attention back to the two male juveniles, the neutral youth said in hateful tone, "Now, if you mutations know what's good for you, you'll scram, ASAP."

"Who do you think you are?" the first boy, a greasy black-haired one, challenged, having gone over his initial shock and was now aggravated.

"I'm the guy who's gonna put you in your place if you don't get out of here," "Zeke" growled.

"Wanna bet?" the second boy, a brunette, hissed as he lunged at the sable-haired teen.

Zetta dodged before grabbing the back of his opponent's shirt and, with a hard yank and sharp twist, threw the brunette at his black-haired friend. Both bullies hit the ground with a harsh _thump_. They both groaned in a dazed and pained manner.

"Leave!" the former Cybertronian boomed. "And don't ever put your hands on any females again!"

Both boys clumsily got to their feet and began running, but not before the black-haired boy shouted, "This isn't over!"

Zettabyte suppressed the primal growl that tried to escape his mouth. Turning around, he saw that everyone in his group staring at him with mouths agape.

"Dude, that was epic!" Alan cried out in a thrilled tone.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Lacey asked, also astounded.

The sable-haired boy could see the Goth in the back of the group, frantically motioning with her hands for him to come up with answer.

Thinking quickly, "Zeke" said, "Remember how I told you my mom use to work in different schools everywhere we went? Well, the bullies, and sometimes school intruders, at some of the schools weren't afraid to get physical with the teachers. You never heard about it because my dad had connections to help keep the incidents out of the papers. He's protective like that. And, thanks to some unpleasant encounters he had himself, he taught me a few moves for my protection so…yeah."

"Whoa," Adalia breathed.

"Yeah, what she said," Sawyer added.

"Thank you again," the red-head spoke gratefully as her friend nodded.

"No problem. Just glad to help. Be safe," he stated calmly as the two girls proceeded to hurry off to their next destination.

Amanda immediately came up to him and gave him a playful slug, "You're a real hero."

The neutral youth blushed modestly, "Well, I try to do the right thing."

 _Half an hour later; Third Person Perspective_

"Hey Sasha! You dropped something!"

Not too long after the incident outside, the group decided to first to go into one of the stores that sold school supplies. This decision was made when Sasha told the group that "Zeke" hadn't been to public school in a long time and needed quite a few things despite the fact that the sable-haired teen would only be going to school as a visitor. The other teens agreed and after thirty minutes of selecting a backpack, some necessary school supplies, and waiting in a line consisting of pouty faced grade school kids, busy-looking parents, and stressed out young adults, they had all that they needed.

Sasha and Zetta turned around to see Alan holding the bottle that held the former Cybertronian's pills.

The neutral youth hurried over and took the bottle, face blushing as he said to all the group, "Those are mine. They're for my…metabolism problem. They were made by a friend of my mother's who's a herbalist. They were approved by a family doctor. I never told you because…I was embarrassed."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Kenya soothed. "You know I had asthma as little kid."

"I have a cousin who can't eat anything with peanuts," Sawyer confessed.

"My older sister use to have an anemia problem," Juliet replied calmly. "See, there's no reason to feel bad. Everyone has something."

"Well, thank you," the sable-haired teen smiled sincerely.

"Hey, it's early but maybe we can check out my great aunt's candy shop," Colette offered kindly. "It's never too early for candy."

The whole group laughed and nodded. As they proceeded to walk to the candy shop, they noticed a bus sitting out in parking lot just in the front of the store. It was white with soft gold writing that read _Mellowfields Retirement Home_.

 _I wonder,_ the nature lover thought curiously as they got to the shop and went in.

The shop held a buttercup yellow and burgundy sign that read _Angelique Sweets_. The inside had black and creamy vanilla colored tiles while the walls were a rich, deep rouge color with paintings of France and other sceneries hanging for all to see. There were a few tables and chairs colored a deep shade of brown, almost black. The counter displayed numerous candies behind glass. Truffles, macaroons, cubes of chocolate decorated with different decorations, twisted marshmallows, fruity looking candies, caramels, peppermint candies, and so many others.

The raven-haired girl was proven right when she saw her elderly friend sitting at one of the cushioned chairs in the shop.

"Ruth!" Sasha exclaimed in surprise and joy.

The woman, who was wearing a cream-colored knitted sweater, a yellow shawl, and a pale tan skirt, looked up and smiled, "Well hello Sasha! This is quite a surprise."

The Goth wasted no time in hurrying over and hugging the older female, "It's good to see you too. These are my friends."

Looking at the group, the gray-haired woman smiled, "Aren't they lovely. Hello dears."

Everyone in the group smiled politely and came forward to greet her, hands out to shake in greeting, causing the gray-haired woman to say brightly, "And here I thought this was going to be another quiet day in the candy shop while the other residents were spending time with family and getting their prescriptions from the pharmacy."

When Zetta came next, the former Cybertronian politely said, "I'm Sasha's, cousin Ezekiel. Call me Zeke if you like. Sasha has told me a lot about you. And you're even more beautiful and elegant than she described."

"Oh what a gentleman," Ruth laughed softly. "Gemma would like you. Gemma dear! Come here! I want you to meet somebody."

A girl who looked to be twenty-three appeared. She had dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders, fair skin, hazel eyes with a hint of brown, and appeared to be a bit taller than Alan. She wore a black long-sleeve shirt, dark denims, and black and gray tennis shoes. She wore no make-up.

"Gemma here is my chaperone. She's a friend of my granddaughter's. She works part time at the home. My children and grandchildren were suppose to visit today but their flight got cancelled and they're gonna have to wait an extra day," the elderly woman explained.

"Hey," Gemma smiled casually, holding out her hand to be shaken.

"Hello Gemma. I'm Sasha," the nature-lover said politely as she shook the offered hand

"Hello Gemma. I'm Zeke," the sable-haired teen grinned, following Sasha's lead alongside the other teens.

"Aw Ruth, I'm so sorry," the raven-haired girl stated sincerely to which her "cousin" and friends nodded.

But Ruth waved nonchalantly, "It's quite alright. At least they'll be here by tomorrow at the earliest. And they are trying. That's all I need to know to keep me going."

"Grandma Sybil always did say you had a positive out-look on life," the dark brunette said with a playful roll of her eyes.

The female octogenarian sighed forlornly, "I miss that woman. She was a feisty one, but she had a good heart. Not to mention she made the best darn sugar cookies and cheese biscuits in town."

The last part was said with a brighter tone which made everyone slightly giggle a bit.

"I thought I heard a familiar laugh," came a new voice.

From a door behind the counter came another woman who looked to be only few years younger than Ruth. She wore a wine colored slacks and deep scarlet, long-sleeved blouse with a deep rouge apron with the shop's logo on it in buttercup yellow. Her graying hair had quite a few strands of warm, chocolate brown and was held up in a bun with a hair tie with satin pale pink roses.

"Aunt Lucille!" Colette grinned as she hugged her great-aunt. "It's good to see you!"

The woman laughed as she hugged her grandniece back, "Now, I know you didn't just come in on your day off to tell me hello."

"You caught me," the auburn-haired girl laughed. "These are my friends. I brought them here to taste the best chocolate in these parts."

"Well, you've brought them to the right place," Lucille grinned, turning to the said group. "I promise, you won't be disappointed."

 _Half an hour later; Third Person Perspective_

After sampling nearly all of the treats that Colette's great-aunt had to offer and talking with Ruth, the time had come for the elderly woman to return to the home. After a few hugs and the promise to stop by again in a week, Ruth and Sasha went their separate ways.

"So, what do we do now?" Sawyer asked.

"My mom did tell me to pick up a prescription for her while I'm out," Alan spoke up. "Maybe we should head to the pharmacy to get whatever it is we need."

"Good point. My Aunt Rita, my mom's sister-in-law, is coming. I need to stalk up on aspirin. Don't ask," Amanda stated, already walking to the said building with the blue sign.

A small ripple of laughter went through the group before they followed the feisty red-head.

Upon entering the building, they were greeted by quite a couple aisles with shelves stocked with items ranging from children's medicine to snacks to cosmetics and bathroom items. The tiles were a minty green and the walls were white and soft periwinkle. Behind the counter were an elderly man and a young teenage girl. The man had grayish-white hair and white peach fuzz. He looked to be around the same age as Ruth but carried himself with a firm, competent stance. He wore a clean white shirt and dark jeans. The girl looked to be a year younger than Sasha. She had wavy dirty blonde hair, eyes that were an amazing forest green, and fair skin. She wore a white blouse and a light blue skirt. Both had green name tags. The girl's read Skyla and the man's read Stanley. The most noticeable feature was that the man had a calm, stoic look while the girl beamed at the customers.

"Hey, do any of you guys need help?" the girl asked smiling.

"We're fine right now but thank you. Skyla right?" "Zeke" said playfully.

This caused Skyla to laugh and say, "Yes. Just call us if you need anything."

The mechling-turned-human teen nodded as he began to browse alongside his "cousin" and companions. He saw a fountain drink machine located near the fridge portion which held plastic bowls of fruit salad, yogurt, packaged lunches, sodas, juices, milk, and other items that needed to stay cold. There was even a freezer nearby to hold the ice creams and popsicles.

Zetta looked curiously at all the varieties of junk food and healthy snacks.

"Hey Zeke, you need help?" Sawyer asked his sable-haired friend.

"Kind of. To be honest…my mom has always tried to steer me clear of most snack foods she deemed unhealthy, so I have no idea on what's popular and good," the neutral youth confessed, silently relieved that he thought up a quick lie.

Truth be told, he and Sasha had tasted the dark chocolate _Milky Way_ bar and barbeque _Lays,_ the night before. In a way, he got a sense of how delicious human snacks were, but he wasn't an expert on how others tasted. Heck, he didn't even know what the original versions of the snacks tasted like.

"Ah, she was a health nut. So are my mom and my grandma. Well it's good to stay healthy, but there's no reason to indulge a little," the soccer-player commented with a friendly smile as he came over. "Hmm, how about some _Lays,_ a Pepsi, some granola bars, some dried fruit, Reese', and a _Milky Way_."

The former Cybertronian smiled and quickly nodded as he grabbed the said snacks. The teens then reunited at the front of the counter where Alan and Amanda were patiently waiting. Just as the teens all began paying for their purchases, in came another person. This was man who looked to be the same age as the man behind the counter. He had a clean, shaven face, neatly combed gray hair, and vibrant blue eyes. He wore white lab coat with a name tag that read Dr. Todd Ocutis, beige slacks, and brown leather shoes. He smiled as he approached the small crowd of people.

"Hello Dr. Ocutis!" Kenya chirped cheerily.

The other teens joined in saying hello, smiling kindly.

"Well, hello Kenya. Hello kids," he said smiling and with a very faint English accent, before his eyes landed on the two dark-haired newcomers. "Well, who do we have here?"

"These are our friends, Sasha and her cousin Zeke," Adalia said, introducing them. "Guys, this is Dr. Ocutis. He's the town's best eye doctor."

"He's the town's _only_ eye doctor," Joaquin snorted good-naturedly. "But that's because he does a fine job."

The man laughed modestly, "Well, I try to stay on the ball for the sake of my patients."

"And you never fail to succeed, Grandpa," Skyla chuckled.

"Grandpa?" all the teens echoed in unison.

"Oh, right. Kids, this here is my granddaughter, Skyla Ocutis," the elderly doctor said with a smile. "She and the family are visiting this weekend. She and her siblings are helping me and my old friend here, Stanley Wilson, with our respective work. Stanley's son-in-law's family owns this pharmacy. He's watching the pharmacy while his granddaughter is getting her tonsils removed."

"Well it's good to meet you all," Zettabyte said with a smile.

That's when he noticed something peculiar. Mr. Wallaces pupils and irises were not visible. There was some milky white mist covering them, giving them the appearance of creamy grayish pearls. He then realized that the man's lack of direct eye contact was due to the man's lack of sight.

Stanley was blind.

The former Cybertronian felt himself blush with shock, pity, and guilt. To think that he had assumed that the man was aloof and impolite made him feel ashamed of himself.

"Hey Zeke, you okay?" Juliet asked with concern, seeing the sable-haired boy's deep red face and troubled look.

Before he could reply, the group was startled by a _clack._

They all turned to stare at a group of young adults who looked to be in their mid twenties. Three men and one woman stood in the wide open door of the small establishment. The man in the front had ruffled dark brown hair and deep brown eyes that almost seemed black. The other two men had shaven heads, making impossible to see their hair color, the taller of the two having gray-green eyes while the shorter one had pale blue eyes. The woman had scruffy, sandy blonde hair cut short so it stopped at her neck. She had greenish hazel eyes. They all wore plain looking clothing, if not dumpy.

The man in front stocked towards the counter, eyes fixated on the blind man. He stopped just barely an inch from the counter.

Coolly, the newcomer asked, "Where's Brandon?"

"He's with my daughter and granddaughter," Stanley replied, voice more cold. "Not that it's any of your business."

The younger man's eyes narrowed, "Don't give me that attitude old man."

"Why shouldn't he? His son-in-law has done nothing to you. You have no reason to harass him or anyone else associated with him," the eye doctor snapped in defense of his friend. "If this is still about your lady up and leaving you, that is not anyone's problem but your own. And no more of this "she's missing" nonsense. It's downright ridiculous."

"You better watch your mouth, old man," the taller of the lackeys growled. "And stay out of this."

"Don't talk to my grandfather like that you piece of garbage!" Skyla shouted angrily.

Just as the brutish intruder began walking towards the counter, Zetta stepped between him and the younger teen.

"Step aside twerp," the older male commanded.

"Not a chance, you genetic defect," the mechling-turned-human teen spat.

Sasha gasped as she and the others watched tensely, ready to jump in to defend their friend.

"What did you say to me?" the twenty-some man snarled.

"You heard me. You and your ilk get the _frag_ out of this establishment right now," Zetta snarled, looking his opponent right in the eyes.

A moment of silent intensity passed.

Suddenly, the thuggish scoundrel swung at the teen boy. Zetta ducked quickly, grabbed the man's arm, and flipped him. The shady attacker cried in surprise before grunting in pain as his body made contact with the hard tiles. No sooner had that happen did Skyla pull out a tazer and shoved it into the face of the group's leader.

"You and your friends get out of here before I electrocute you four into crisps," she snarled, the hateful look she had on just seconds ago was intensified. "And I got you and your buddies on surveillance, so don't bother calling the police. Not like they would side with you anyway."

The quartet's leader's eyes widened as he raised his hands, took a few steps back, and hurried out the doors, the other two following right behind him. The would-be-attacker staggered off the floor and through the doors.

Joaquin strode up to "Zeke" and clapped a hand on his shoulder and said in amazed tone, "Dude, you keep beating up low-lives, then the police are gonna have to give you a job."

"Yeah…I guess," Zettabyte said without really looking at or hearing Joaquin.

"While we don't advocate violence, I must say thank you," Dr. Ocutis said with a kind and grateful smile. "You've just about helped us avoid an unpleasant incident."

"It was nothing sir," the mechling-turned-human teen stated politely, looking the elderly male in the eyes before reaching to shake the offered hand.

However, the moment the eye doctor's hand got a firm grip of his hand, Zetta noticed something weird. The gray-haired man's eyes closed for a moment and his mouth twitched slightly but remained in a smile. Suddenly, the man quickly shook his hand and let go, opening his eyes as quickly as he had closed them.

"Yeah, we owe you one kid," the blind male stated, slowly reaching out and expertly finding and shaking the sable-haired boy's hand. "You got a lot of courage. I admire that."

"I'm not courageous. I just don't like people mistreating others," Zettabyte said modestly in a well-mannered, matter-of-fact tone.

"Amen to that," Skyla said as she held her hand up in a high-five motion.

Smiling, the neutral youth obliged and high-fived her. But what startled him was that the moment his open palm connected with hers, she got a strange glassy look in her eyes and her grinning lips pressed and tightened as though she was holding back something she wanted to blurt out. Like her grandfather, her expression turned back to normal as he took his hand away from hers.

The former Cybertronian turned to look t the group. To his surprise, the only one who seemed confused by the strange behavior of the two people was Sasha. Her brows were quirked in a confused expression while everyone else continued to grin and speak among themselves. Once they finished paying for their snacks and other items and exchanging a few more words, they all left.

As they walked away from the pharmacy towards the arcade, Sasha turned to Sawyer and asked, "What was that back there? Those expressions that Dr. Ocutis and Skyla made when they touched Zeke's hand, what were they?"

Sawyer looked at her, "Hm? Oh, that! Dr. Ocutis always makes that face whenever he makes physical contact with anybody. My grandma once asked him why he did and she told me that he said it was just something he did when he was memorizing a new face. We use to joke about him being psychic or something. He has great memory and he's good man. It's probably just some quirk that he's had for a long time."

"And from the looks of it, Skyla may have picked up that quirk," Juliet joked.

The Goth smiled at the playfulness of her friend but when she turned to look at her "cousin", they exchanged looks of surprise and suspicion. They both knew that there was something more to all of this.

 _Something._

 _One and half hours later at the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

"Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead is coming back online," Ratchet called to his leader and youngest teammate.

No sooner had that sentence left the medic's mouth did both Prime and scout come over from where they were in the base's hallway. Sure enough, when they set their optics on their Wrecker teammate, they saw that his optic lids were shifting and his helm was rocking side to side. A minute later, he let out a groan as his optics cracked open.

The Autobot CMO immediately took out a small light and pointed it at the moss colored mech's optics, "That's it, follow the light Bulkhead."

"I would if it wasn't so Primus damn bright!" the dazed Autobot brawler managed to growl.

"He's fine," Ratchet grumbled, pulling away before the former construction mech could swipe at him.

"How are you feeling Bulkhead?" Optimus asked politely.

"Like I got trampled by ten thousand Insecticons," the Wrecker groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his helm and neck.

 **[It's not a surprise, considering that you probably got hit in the head until you blacked out,]** Bumblebee spoke up. **[What happened?]**

Bulkhead stopped nursing his throbbing helm and thought for a moment. Through the waves of pain that were slowly ebbing away, his memories from the night before came back like a slow slideshow. His optics then narrowed into angry slits as he grit his denta.

"Breakdown and a few scum drones ambushed me," the moss colored mech snarled in fury.

The anger and humiliation from the attack nearly made his Energon boil.

"Easy," the veteran medic immediately said, placing a servo on his patient's shoulder plating as he turned to the former archivist. "Call Arcee, she needs to hear this."

The ocean blue and cherry mech nodded as he proceeded to activate his comm. and contact his femme teammate, "Arcee, Bulkhead has regain consciousness. Please return to base."

No response.

"Arcee, did you hear me? Return to base. That is an order," the Prime repeated more firmly.

Again, only silence answered.

"Arcee, answer," the Autobot leader commanded, now a bit annoyed.

Still nothing.

 **[This can't be good,]** the Autobot mechling said quietly as a look of pure frustration decorated both the faceplates of Team Prime's leader and medic.

 _At the arcade; Third Person Perspective_

"Well, I'm dead," Amanda grumbled as she stepped back from the Pan-Man game which now showed that it was game over.

"Aww, boo," Kenya huffed, sharing her friend's disappointment. "Maybe we should head to _MiMi's Cakes & Pies Shop _now."

The red-headed girl's frown immediately split into a wide grin, "Now you're talking! What do you say guys?"

The other teens heard and cheered in agreement.

"We're in," Sasha stated from where she was playing air hockey with "Zeke" as she hit the puck, succeeding in getting it past the sable-haired teen. "Yes!"

Zetta pouted playfully but grinned as he followed the others out of the arcade.

"Hey, I've noticed that the shop's name consists of a repetition of two letters like the ice cream parlor's name," the mechling-turned-human teen spoke up.

"I just realized that too. Why is that?" the Goth asked curiously.

Juliet laughed and began explaining, "The owners are related. Their great-grandmother, Georgiana 'Gigi' Fairchild ran a small shop called _Gigi's Jam, Jelly, and Spreads House._ Since then, her children and grandchildren have been doing the same with their own shops. There's _Bebe's Crepes Galore, Cece's Muffins & Cupcake Cavern, Deedee's Deluxe Donuts, _and the list goes on."

"Sounds like family businesses are forever influenced by traditions," the neutral youth concluded with a smile.

"That's the truth," the nature-lover commented, grinning as she thought about some of her own cousins that continued their families' or in-laws' work.

As they entered the shop, none of them noticed the bright purple vehicle pulling in.

 _Meanwhile on the road; Third Person Perspective_

Arcee sped through the dusty road of the desert. More than twice she had to dodge a crossing desert animal. She knew that she should probably stop but she just couldn't calm down.

Not while her son was still missing.

The thought of him being alone and in a terrible state made her frightened and stressed.

And those emotions morphed into one that she was very familiar with; anger.

Anger at the Decepticons. Her team. Herself. But mostly, herself for having stood by and done nothing as the child she had given up so long ago got put into a terrifying situation.

 _I should've kept him from leaving the base yesterday,_ she thought bitterly.

The sapphire femme would have given anything to go back in time and save her sparkling from the explosion. Pit, if she could go back far enough, she would change the past just to keep him.

She shook her head. Such wishes didn't come true, especially during war.

As she spotted a parking lot attached to a line of shops, a strip mall, Jack had explained, she became aware of something. There, parked near the arcade, she saw a recognizable vehicle.

Her shock didn't last as it morphed in aggravation.

Quietly, she pulled into the parking lot.

 _In the shop; Third Person Perspective_

"Thanks Barb," Joaquin thanked, rubbing his hands together as the thirty-something year-old, slightly plump brunette.

"Sure thing hon. You kids just give me a holler if you need something," she said before trotting away to tend to the other customers.

The moment she left them to themselves, they immediately dug into their respective slices.

"Mm-mm-mm," Sawyer hummed in pleasure as he bit into the slice of carrot cake.

"I never get tired of this," Juliet purred as she savored her cherry pie.

"I second that," Adalia said after swallowing a mouthful of chocolate chip banana cake.

"Third," Colette added as she cute another piece out of her coconut cream pie.

"How are you liking yours, Zeke?" Sasha asked, looking up from her slice of Black Forest cake.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she saw that her partner had already finished his cinnamon apple pie a la mode.

"Guess that answers that," Alan teased from where he was seated in front of the two "cousins." "If I were you Zeke, I would ask for another slice before they run out."

Tempted by the idea, the former Cybertronian prepared to raise his hand to signal Barb.

He stopped, however, when he saw who was at the counter.

He gave the Goth a little nudge to get her attention. When she turned to him, he made a "look over there gesture." She followed the sable-haired teen's gaze and nearly jumped out of her seat.

A tall, dark-haired man, clothed from head-to-toe in purplish-black clothing with red-lens sunglasses, was at the counter. On the shoulder of his jacket, was a Decepticon insignia.

It didn't take her long to realize that the man was a Decepticon's holoform. One of the drones no doubt.

Thankfully, the intimidating figure didn't seem to notice the two dark-haired teens eyeing him fearfully. Instead, he was speaking urgently to the cashier.

"Have you seen this kid?" he asked, holding up a flyer.

The cashier looked at the piece of paper, which was obscured from Zetta and Sasha's sight, before responding, "Nah, I'm sorry. I would've remembered that green high-lighted hair."

The man sighed in annoyance and misery as his arms dropped to his sides and he turned and walked out.

Both nature-lover and mechling-turned-human teen slowly began to relax and turned back to their group.

That's when they heard the angry shout of surprise.

Their heads, along with the heads of their friends and the other customers, snapped to look outside. If they hadn't been ready to have panic attacks before, they certainly were now.

In the parking space just in front of the shop, throwing punches at the equally hostile purple clad man, was a woman dressed in a blue motorcycle suit and a helmet. Behind her was a sapphire and pink motorcycle.

Zettabyte gasped and slumped in his seat, trying to make hide himself from the two Cybertronians in disguise outside. Thankfully, none of the other teens seemed to notice as they were too busy watching the scene taking place. Their faces were contorted in confusion, shock, and what seemed like a little bit of fear.

Sasha saw her "cousin's" nervous expression and posture. She watched anxiously, praying that the two robotic extraterrestrials would leave. The raven-haired girl sighed with relief as one of the employees, a well built college-aged young man charged out from one of the shops, fists at his sides and jaw visibly clenched in obvious annoyance.

"You and you! Get out of here before I call the cops! Go on get! You pieces of desert trash!" he bellowed.

It didn't take long for the "drivers" to get back to their "vehicles" and drive away.

Everyone in the shop slowly looked away from the window.

"What. The. Heck?" Adalia stated in shock.

"What on Earth could that all have been about?" Colette asked out loud.

No one knew the answer.

No one except the two friends in that shop.

 _A few minutes later at the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

"Arcee, what you did was unwise," Optimus said, looking down sternly at his soldier and teammate with disappointed optics.

The femme had just called for a Groundbridge. No sooner had she done so did one pop up just a few feet in front of her with no time for her to stop. When her leader demanded she tell him where she was and what she had been doing, he was less than pleased by her answer.

"That Con-scum had it coming. It's just as their fault that Zetta is missing!" the two-wheeler protested rebelliously.

 **[What was he doing there anyway?]** Bumblebee asked curiously.

"He was showing a picture of Zetta's holoform to random humans," Arcee explained with a huff.

"It seems that the Decepticons have become so desperate to find him, they're even willing to see if any humans have seen him," Ratchet stated from where he was finishing up Bulkhead's repairs.

"That explains why Breakdown and his team said that they would scrap me if they couldn't find the kid," the Wrecker said from his seat on the medbay berth.

 **[I'm not sure whether to be happy or worried that the Cons haven't found him,]** the scout concluded.

"But what if they're lying? I wouldn't put past Megatron and his sick imagination to make it look like they have no idea where Zetta is just so they can throw us off track," the sapphire femme snapped impatiently.

"Old Bucket-head's not that creative," the moss-colored mech sniffed.

"We still have yet to exhaust our search. If we want to prove that there is a chance that Zettabyte might be on the _Nemesis_ , then we must make sure that we leave no spot unturned," the Autobot CMO reasoned.

"Whatever the case may be, we need find that mechling and bring him here…And hopefully, here is where he'll stay," the Prime finished firmly with a look of determination and hope glinting in his optics.

Hey everybody I'm back! Sorry about the long wait. My family was prepping me for school and my mom was goading me to start going to bed early for obvious reasons. And of course, my classes have kept my schedule busy. But not to worry, I'm back and I'll try to get back into the swing of things. So enjoy this update.

Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	4. Chapter 4: First Day of School

Chapter 4: First Day of School: Lunch Talk and Clubs

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _In Sawyer's SUV; Third Person Perspective_

"You okay Zeke? You look nervous," Sawyer asked from his spot in the front passenger's seat, trying not to let himself hit the dashboard as Colette took a sharp turn.

"Zeke" was dressed in a pair of new jeans, a red dress shirt, and black and silver tennis shoes. His hair was neatly combed and he had with him a aqua and dark green backpack. He was currently eating a pita filled with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, bananas, raisins, and a bottle of skim milk.

Swallowing what was in his mouth, the sable haired boy responded, "A little. I…honestly can't remember the last time I was at a school without my mom. Even though I took online classes, she would bring me with her so I could socialize with other teens at the schools."

"Well don't worry man. Just stick with Sasha and you'll be just fine," the soccer-player reassured. "And try to avoid Vince. You've told him about Vince, right Sasha?"

"Yes, I have," the Goth confirmed, sharing a knowing look with her "cousin."

"Well, I highly doubt he'll get to meet Vince if SOMEONE continues to drive the way they're driving," Adalia said half firmly, half frantically before letting out a shrill cry as Colette took a sharp turn.

"Calm down, I got it. And Sasha, it was smart of you to leave Midnight with Sawyer's grandmother for the day. With Vince's new-student-homing instincts, he may have found out about her," the auburn-haired French speaker said confidently. "You're still gonna love our school Zeke. There's clubs, sports, and other events. There's a farmer's market near the school today and a bake sale tomorrow."

"The bake sale! I totally forgot," the raven-haired girl exclaimed, slapping a hand over her forehead. "I'm gonna drop by the farmer's market after school to grab some ingredients for my grandmother's caramel apple cinnamon rolls."

"Don't forget to save me one," Sawyer laughed.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you in my thoughts," the nature-lover laughed.

"So will we," Colette and Adalia announced in unison before laughing.

Zetta smiled, his doubt and nervousness slowly melting away.

 _At the high school; Third Person Perspective_

"I'll pick you two up after school," June said cheerfully as her son and the pre-teen high schooler exited her vehicle.

"Got it, Mom. We'll be waiting. Thanks for the ride," Jack smiled back as he shut the door.

"Yeah, thank you Ms. Darby," Raf added politely.

"Anytime Raf," the nurse stated kindly as she began driving off. "Have a good day sweetie. Love you!"

"You too!" the onyx-haired boy shouted back as he began walking towards the steps with the computer protégé.

When the nurse was out of sight, the older boy heard his younger companion sigh and say, "So, what do we do when we see Sasha?"

"She thinks that Zetta is with Decepticons and visiting other places. And she's gonna keep thinking that until he's found," the older student told his brunette companion.

"I feel so guilty. Her partner is missing and we can't even tell her," Raf muttered nervously.

"We don't want to upset her Raf," Jack reasoned quietly.

This made the Raf bite his lip before responding, "Remember how Zetta brought us to the park to do our homework and he bought us muffins and juice before taking us for a drive through the desert?"

Jack allowed a small smile to grace his face, "I remember. Hey, what about last Saturday when he took us to a drive-in movie theater and then to those food trucks before we went star-gazing?"

"Yeah," the pre-teen responded half nostalgically and half shakily.

In such a short amount of time, both Jack and Raf had become attached to Zetta. For someone who lived among the Cons, the neutral youth was quite friendly and generous. While both human male youths loved their own Cybertronian guardians, they felt more comfortable around the ruby and sapphire mechling. Perhaps it was the fact that Zettabyte's behavior wasn't as on edge as the Bots. Sure, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead had their moments when they were fun and relaxed, Bee especially, but there were situations when those would not be the case for long intervals of time.

Such edgy behavior happened if there was a sudden pop up of Con activity or if there was a long period of quiet. The latter often made the Bots too tense to do any sort of leisure for quite awhile. It even made them quite easy to irritate at times.

But Zetta never had either problem, for quite obvious reasons. He was always eager to socialize with the Autobot's human allies, minus Miko who was still grounded. Sasha never seemed to mind it either. The Cybertronian youth never once showed any evidence that there was a bad circuit in his frame. The only time he seemed to be vexed or nervous was when he was near one of the Autobots.

The mere presence of the Prime, his medic, or one of his two adult soldiers made Zetta guarded and apprehensive. The only Bot who was an exception was Bumblebee. Most likely it was because they were in the same age range. There were times that they would park next to each other while waiting for their respective charges to come out of school, having small talk the whole time. The neutral youth did seem to always decline the young scout's option to rough house or spar when he offered but otherwise they got along quite well.

"We're going to have more occasions like those Raf," Jack stated confidently as he returned to the present. "Zetta's going to be found any day now. You just gotta have some faith and patience, alright?"

Raf nodded and smiled, "Okay."

Just then, they saw the Sandersons' car pull up. As it had been happening for the past few weeks, Miko emerged from the car sullenly, backpack on her back. She immediately began trudging over as her host mother drove off. It was unnatural for the two boys to see their friend so down. She was always peppy, even on Mondays. Being grounded from going to the base definitely left a toll on her rebellious and jubilant attitude.

"Hey guys," she said unenthusiastically as she walked over.

"Hey Miko. How was your weekend?" the brunette asked the Asian girl gently.

"The same as it's been for the last several weekends. Dull and seriously lacking in fun," she complained.

"Sorry," the pre-teen apologized instantly for bringing up the subject.

"It's fine," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Any word on Zetta?"

"Zilch. The Bots are still looking. But we're not gonna tell Sasha. No matter how much we want to. Unless we get…bad news, we don't say a word," the onyx-haired boy answered firmly.

"Dude, I don't think I even have the energy to tell her," Miko responded.

Their conversation was interrupted when they noticed that all of the students who were on the steps were curiously moving towards an SUV.

Sawyer's SUV.

"What's going on over there?" the junior student asked aloud.

"I don't know. Let's go check it out," the foreign exchange student stated both hurrying over, her two friends close behind.

 _Third Person Perspective_

The moment Zettabyte stepped out of the vehicle all eyes seemed to lock on him.

Students who were on mid conversation stopped to look at the newcomer. The ones studying or looking at their phones had looked up as well, sensing the collective curiosity of their peers. A couple of kids who had been about to head inside turned around when they heard the whispers of a new face.

Sasha stood firm beside her "cousin", ready to jump to his defense if any of the other teens react negatively to the arrival of his unfamiliar presence. It wasn't long before all of her classmates who had caught sight of the sable-haired teen slowly began moving in. "Zeke" took a deep breath and gave the crowd a big grin.

As if on cue, the Goth immediately introduced him, "This is my cousin Zeke. He's visiting for a few days."

The moment she was done, the mechling-turned-human teen extended his hand, "Hello." 

Almost immediately a female freshman with chestnut brown hair and blue eyes took his hand, blushing, "Hi. I'm Tiffany."

The moment she stopped, another girl, a blonde, green-eyed junior, strode up and shook his hand as well, "Hey stranger. My name's Kia."

An African American sophomore popped up, grinning, "Welcome to Memorial High. I'm Trisha."

A dark-haired, tanned sophomore scooted in held out his fist, "Name's Victor."

Zetta happily fist bumped the other teen when Jack, Raf, and Miko appeared in the front of the crowd.

Both nature-lover and neutral youth almost froze when the three Team Prime allies set their sights on "Zeke." Jack looked a bit shocked and curious, as did Raf though his curiosity out-weighed his shock. They knew that Sasha came from a rather large, extended family. Still, it didn't make it any less surprising for them to see one family member of hers here. What was really interesting was how much familiarity they felt about his presence. It wasn't that they knew his face, but rather the atmosphere he emitted reminded them strongly of one they were well acquainted with. Miko…had a blank look on her face.

No, not blank. Far off. Almost…dreamy.

Deciding to break the silence, Sasha spoke up, "Guys, this is my cousin. Zeke, these are Jack, Raf, and Miko. The three classmates that I've told you _a lot_ about."

Catching on, the sable-haired teen nodded quickly, "Oh yeah. It's a pleasure to meet you three."

The second he extended his arm out, the rebellious Asian student grabbed his hand and shook it, "I'm Miko."

She struggled to keep herself from blushing at the newcomer. He was quite attractive; dark hair, deep blue eyes that put the ocean to shame, and broad grin that revealed his good-spirited and friendly nature.

"Alright Miko, let me and Raf shake hands," Jack stated jokingly.

She suppressed a groan as she reluctantly let go and moved so that her friend may shake hands with their classmate's cousin.

"It's great to meet you, Zeke," Jack said with a friendly smile. "Are you settling in well?"

"Well enough, thank you," the sable-haired boy told his onyx-haired counterpart politely.

"When did you get in?" Raf asked as he shook "Zeke's" hand next.

"Late Friday evening," Zetta answered instantly.

"Zeke's a rally cool guy. We went to the pharmacy on Saturday as he freakin flipped some low life into the ground," Sawyer cut in grinning confidently.

"Oooohh," a few members of the crowd, mainly girls, uttered in amazement as the mechling-turned-human teen blushed in modesty.

"Sweet!" Miko cheered.

"Hey, the bell's gonna ring soon!" someone in the crowd shouted.

As soon as those words were spoken, the crowd broke up and the students started moving towards the school hurriedly.

"C'mon Zeke, let's go grab your schedule from the office," the raven-haired girl piped up as she began leading her "cousin" towards the steps of the school.

Unknown to them, Team Prime's human trio were lingering behind.

"How much do you think Sasha said to him?" Miko asked quietly to her onyx-haired friend, eyes never leaving the sable-haired boy until he disappeared inside.

"Sasha wouldn't tell a family member about the Cybertronians without talking it over with us…would she?" the computer prodigy asked uncertain of himself.

"Guess we'll find out during lunch. C'mon," Jack stated as he ushered his friends into the building.

 _Out in the desert; Knock Out's Perspective_

A flashy red sports car zipped along the road wildly. More than once, it nearly sideswiped other drivers it happened to come by on the mostly isolated road. Normally a drive would put the vain medic in a better mood.

But not this time.

Knock Out struggled not to transform into bipedal mode and kick the vehicles he came upon into the next state. He didn't care if he would be punished by Autobots or his lord. For the first time in a long time, Knock out didn't care for his well-being. His focus was on the whereabouts and well-being, or lack of, of a certain ruby and sapphire mechling.

He blamed so many people. He blamed the Autobots for putting Zetta in the situation that led up to the present issue, he blamed the soldiers who didn't stop the poor mechling from running off, he blamed the idiotic human who drove the chemical-filled truck, and he blamed everyone on this Primus-forsaken planet. But most of all, he blamed himself. Had he asked the kid to stay on the ship that week, he would have been safe. Sadly, the idea had come too late. What's done was done.

He hadn't felt anger like this for quite some time. He had only experienced it thrice in his life. The first was when his father went MIA on a trip to Velocitron during a cosmic rust break out. The second one was when his mother past away thanks to the raised prices of medicine and worsening living conditions brought about by Sentinel's greed. And the third was when his older brother and sister-in-law were separated from him during the Exodus. Each one had been the result of losing loved ones.

As much as he was afraid to admit it, Knock Out had come to care for the Cybertronian youth as though he was his own. He might as well have been anyway. The whispers of how Zetta spent so much time with the Decepticon CMO when he wasn't hold up in his quarters did not go unnoticed.

And truth be told, Knock Out honestly didn't mind the idea. The ruby mech was keeping hope that Zetta thought and felt the same way. In spite of the racer's smug demeanor, Zettabyte had always been civil towards him with a hint of admiration and gratitude.

 _And I'm realizing this just now_ , the vain medic thought bitterly, anger melting away enough to make room for sadness.

Not just sadness for his lack of comprehending this earlier but also because of why Zetta did so. The poor mechling had no direct father figure prior to this. Sentinel Prime may have provided the kid with a roof over his helm, Energon for his tanks, and anything he required but that didn't make up for his indifference towards his adopted son. Signing the papers that legally made him Zetta's creator didn't compensate for his lack of paternal instinct. What kind of individual would the neutral youth have become if he didn't have the loving care of his adoptive mother?

The vain medic did not wish to think about it.

He just kept driving.

 _At the high school; Third Person Perspective_

After heading to the principal's office and got the required schedule, he followed Sasha to their first class. He felt the eyes of a few teens straggling in the hallway on him. While they weren't malicious, they still made him uneasy. Thankfully, they made it to the class room in little time. His "cousin" pushed the door opened and entered with her sable-haired counterpart following close behind.

Mr. Parker turned and smiled, "Ah, Ms. Morgan. Good to have you with us. And who is that young man behind you?"

"This is Zeke Torrance, one of my cousins from my mother's side," the Goth explained. "He's visiting for a bit."

As the nature-lover explained, "Zeke" walked up to the middle-aged biology teacher and politely handed him a slip of paper. The man examined it carefully before looking back up at the two with a smile.

"Everything checks out. Zeke, why don't you take a seat behind Sierra over there," Mr. Parker gestured to the said empty seat.

Zettabyte obediently went and sat in the spot. The raven-haired girl followed suit, sitting in her usual spot.

"Now, let's get started. Who can tell me-?" the middle-aged biology teacher began when he was abruptly interrupted.

Everyone turned to see a certain red-headed boy with freckles, green eyes, and a unpleasant expression entered the class, allowing the door to loudly and rudely slam shut behind him. He looked impatient and harsh in his faded jeans, olive jacket over a white T-shirt, and tan, heavy shoes.

"Mr. Jamison, so glad that you can join us," Mr. Parker said, though one could easily guess that he was not pleased at the interruption by the irritation in his eyes as he took the tardy slip. "Please have a seat."

Vince turned to the row of desks but halted.

In the seat right behind one of his many "objects of attraction" was a sable-haired boy he never saw before.

Zetta locked eyes with the interrupter as well. He tensed up when he saw the red-heads look of surprise turned to one of malice.

Vince proceeded to walk to the back, never breaking eye contact with the newcomer. As he sat down, "Zeke" finally turned towards the teacher.

"As I was saying, can anyone what dispersal vectors are, their importance, and name a few?" Mr. Parker asked before the mechling-turned-human teen raised his hand. "Yes, Zeke."

"Dispersal vectors are what help carry the seeds of plants, flowers, and trees to new places, away from the parent plant. They are significant as they help outspread the seeds to other areas of a certain environment for the survival of said botanical organism. This allows the production of new plants, flowers, and trees which will assure that the botanical organism doesn't go extinct and that primary consumers who feast on them have more food which secures the welfare for the secondary consumers who prey on the primary consumers and so on. In other words, it preserves the web of life. Such examples include many mammals, mainly omnivore and herbivore, like monkeys and deer. There are also birds like Waxwings and American robin. And pollinators like bees and hummingbirds can also be taken into account, especially for flowers and flowering plants and trees," "Zeke" stated clearly, using an appropriate tone. "Wind, water, and even human beings can be dispersal vectors themselves but by different means."

"That's correct. Thank you, Zeke," Mr. Parker smiled as he turned to write on the board.

Zettabyte smiled until he heard someone fake cough, "Nerd."

He didn't have to look around to know it was Vince. Or that the red-menace was smiling proudly.

"Mr. Douglas, may I remind you that knowing the class material is what's standing between you either playing for the season or being benched and even kicked off?" the middle-aged biology teacher asked without looking away from the board, though you can tell from his voice that he was reaching the limit to his patience for the delinquent.

That wiped the smile off the red-haired menace's face as he looked down and grumbled, "No, sir."

"Good," Mr. Parker stated firmly as he continued his lesson.

Vince didn't utter another word for the rest of the class. But that didn't mean that Zetta didn't sense the red-headed bully's glare boring into the back of his head.

 _A few hours later; Third Person Perspective_

"C'mon Zee, it's Meatless Monday," Sasha claimed proudly as she led her "cousin" to the cafeteria.

The moment they entered, the smell of savory vegetarian dishes hit their nostrils. Both immediately got in line and grabbed the items of the day; pumpkin risottos (made with vegetable stock and wild rice), curry tofu, vegetarian Mediterranean salads, berry nut parfaits, organic lemonade, and slices of vegan chocolate chip banana bread.

Once they grabbed their food, they went to the table where Sawyer, Adalia, and Colette were seated at. As they sat down, they noticed that a few members from the Earth Club were sitting close by. Both dark-haired teens happily waved to them before they began to eat. Barely two minutes later, they found Jack, Sierra, Raf, Isabella, and Miko standing in front of their table, trays in hand.

"May we sit here?" Raf asked politely.

"Of course," Sawyer stated with a friendly smile.

The moment the five students sat down, they began talking to the sable-haired boy.

"So how are you liking school so far?"

"What do you do for fun?"

"What do your parents do for a living?"

"Is it true you pummeled three guys?"

"How long do you think you'll be staying?"

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Whoa, whoa! One question at a time!" Adalia interrupted. "Let the poor kid answer each one at a time!"

Wiping his mouth, "Zeke" answered, "It's pretty nice. The teachers are cool and everyone seems cool. I like reading, going for walks, tinkering with anything I can get my hands on, exploring the wilderness parts of the places I go to, and observing plants, animals, and just anything that deals with science. My father oversees the government's war and science departments and my mother is a community volunteer and a part time education teacher. I only flipped one of the guys. I'll probably be staying for a week or more, it depends on when my dad finishes up or when my mom is done helping out. And I've never had a girlfriend."

"What? Impossible!" Miko said indignantly, referring to his last answer.

"Well, I've never been around someone that long to develop a romantic interest in. And my parents are…a bit protective. And sometimes picky. My dad can intimidate people sometimes. Even those who have high positions like his. Plus my mom has access to databases of a lot of schools and she and my dad always do background checks. So yeah, there's that," the neutral youth said humbly.

"Have you been homeschooled your whole life?" Isabella asked curiously.

"I was in kindergarten and my parents tried boarding school but it didn't sit well with my mother. Personally, I think it's because she doesn't want me to be a bully's victim. Being a special education teacher, you can imagine all the things she's heard from the students who have visited her," Zettabyte said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Their eyes widened but they nodded in understanding.

"Do you like doing other things? Like going to the movies, the mall, and stuff like that?" Jack asked.

"Who doesn't?" the mechling-turned-human teen said with a friendly grin as he spooned up some more risotto.

"Do you dislike meat like Sasha?" Sierra prodded.

"As long as I can remember. I love animals and I love dishes that don't have their flesh. It's mainly chalked up to my mom being vegetarian herself. But I can't complain. You know moms, they love you to death and make decisions like that to keep you happy and healthy," the sable-haired teen reasoned.

Jack grinned before looking over the newcomer's shoulder and frowning with narrowed eyes, "Well I know someone who doesn't agree with you."

Sasha and Zetta both shared looks before turning to look behind them.

At a table nearest to the wall, Vince and his friends were guffawing loudly as they chomped down on cheeseburgers, bags from the KO Burger scattered around the table.

Sasha sneered in disgust, "Trust people like Vince to not even give someone or something new a chance."

"Forget him. He's just taking advantage of the coach's telling him and the other football players to eat more meat for iron. Besides, I think we have something else to worry about," Colette cut in, her own gaze of dread focused on the entrance to the cafeteria.

All of the teens turned to stare where the French girl was staring at. A tall woman with dark brown and hazel eyes stood in front of the cafeteria doors. She wore a dark mocha colored coat over a tight-fitting cedar-colored top. She also wore tight fitting black jeans, high heels, and several pieces of jewelry. In her hand, she had a white megaphone in one hand.

"Who is that?" the Goth questioned.

"Corrine Barker. PTA interloper," the Latina said resentfully.

"W-What's she doing with that?" Raf stuttered, gesturing towards the heavy and loud device.

"Uh-oh, this can't be good," Miko groaned.

"Everyone quick! Cover your ears!" Jack said loud enough so that everyone nearest to him could hear him.

The moment a chunk of kids covered their ears, Corrine turned the megaphone on. She didn't even wait for the screech of booming static to stop before she began speaking into it.

"Hello kids, Ms. Barker here! I just want to make sure that you all remember to bring something to the school bake sale tomorrow! Also, I would like to advise some of you to think outside the sugar box and come up with some healthy alternatives. As some of you may have guessed, I will be bringing my famous sugar-free lemongrass cookies tomorrow! You are all welcome to purchase as many as you like tomorrow. See you then!" Ms. Barker chirped shrilly into the megaphone before departing the cafeteria.

As soon as the doors closed, students removed their hands from their ears and let out hisses of discomfort, angry mutterings, and one kid even made a rude hand gesture towards the door while semi-shouting a dirty word.

"What in the name of the stars was that all about?" Zettabyte asked dryly in mild shock and annoyance.

"For as long as she's been in this town, Barker has been like that. She's always doing this when the PTA meetings begin. She pesters us, she pesters the parents, and she pesters the teachers. It's like having a monkey on your back and you can't get rid of them," Isabella muttered in frustration.

"I feel sorry for the poor kid who has to deal with that when they go home," the nature-lover stated with a huff.

"Well you don't have to worry about," Sawyer said as he began eating again. "She has no kids."

"Say what?" "Zeke" said in a startled tone.

"Yeah, she doesn't have any kids or kid relations here. Yet she still comes to the meetings," the onyx-haired boy nodded.

"Are you sure? What about at another school or what if she has a kid who goes by a different last name?" the raven-haired girl tried.

But Jack shook his head, "Everyone knows everyone in this town. Nobody has ever seen a kid of any age with her."

"Do you think she sent them to a boarding school or her kid graduated already?" Zettabyte spoke up.

"Doubt it. My mom says she's never seen her buy anything kid or teen-related when she spots her at the store. A parent with a child at a boarding school would purchase school or child related items to send to them. And she's our parents' age but it's not like you can tell with all the plastic surgery she has done," Sierra snorted the last part. "So if she had a kid, they would probably be around our age."

"I think she's just got a complex that makes her think that she can and should butt into everyone's business and try to do things her own way," Miko grumbled. "Y'know, this past spring semester, she tried to make the art and music clubs do Romantic and Victorian style projects. Of course when they said no, she threw a big fit like a little crybaby."

Sasha and Zetta both looked at each other with raised eyebrows and questioning looks.

Looks like the neutral youth's time as a human was becoming more interesting than they thought.

A minute later, when Zeke went to grab some recycled napkins and everyone was busy talking, Jack whispered to Sasha, "Hey Sasha…what exactly have you told Zeke?"

Putting on her best serious and sincere face, the Goth replied, "Only enough to let him know about the town. And nothing else."

Jack looked at her for a second before nodding as if to say he believed her.

Sasha could only relax as she tried to settle the knots in her stomach.

 _An hour and a half later; Third Person Perspective_

The whistle blow echoed through the gym as the kids all stood straight and turned their attention to the coach.

"Alright kids. Coach Thomas is out visiting some relatives, so _some_ of you who expect to get away with minor things like you do with him, don't get comfortable," the PE teacher, Ms. Ross said, narrowing her brown eyes at a certain red-head.

Vince grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Now, for today's class we will be running laps around the track. The reason why is because the janitor will be coming in here to set up the tables for the bake sale tomorrow. Now off we go," the middle-aged woman said as she herded her students outside.

They all stood beside the track, waiting for their teacher to give them permission to start running. Raf stood near the front, thankfully next to his two friends. Unfortunately, Vince stood just behind the three of them. The computer prodigy was hoping that the bully would not take advantage of his placement to bug him.

No such luck.

"Hey Esquivel, try not to get squished," the red-head snickered cruelly.

"Why don't you lay off him, Vince," Jack snapped irritably.

"Why don't you mind your own business Darby," the bully spat.

"How about you watch what you say to others, Jamison?" came Zettabyte's abrupt and sudden interruption from where he stood near the back of the group.

Everyone gasped and turned to stare at the sable-haired boy, who seemed equally surprised by his own daring words, in astonishment. Sure they all had told Vince to leave them alone but that was when the boy bothered them. This was one of the rare occasions that another teen had confronted Vince first. And used a harsh tone and his last name, no less.

"What did you say to me, newbie?" Vince asked angrily, his surprise having vanished before it appeared.

"You heard me. You should watch how you talk to people. It's gonna come back to you sooner or later," "Zeke" said in a matter-of-fact tone, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

The red-head stomped towards the new student, teeth clenched. He stopped just an inch from his face. Zettabyte somehow managed to keep a straight face and keep from grimacing as he felt the enraged harasser's breathing on him. Angry, vivid green irises looked in to defiant cool blue irises.

"For new meat, you got a big mouth and nosy attitude," Vince growled.

"And for someone who's been at this school longer, you're not well-liked or mature," the neutral youth bit back. "Honestly, how hard is it for you to just leave others alone? How does a person's existence threaten yours? Unless the person is planning to rig your car to blow up once you're driving, there is no reason for you to display this kind of hostility to any individual."

Just as everyone was sure that the red-headed menace was about to slug the new arrival, the crowd parted to reveal Ms. Ross.

"Vince, would you like to share with me what you were sharing with Zeke?" she asked with a calm expression, but her tone was like a knife, sharp, cold, and highly dangerous.

"Why no Ms. Ross. I was just wishing Zeke here good luck," Vince lied in a tone that was so sickeningly sweet that even a few students looked like they wanted to vomit.

Nodding but still holding a look that said she didn't believe him, she said, "Well, I hope you put as much effort into your good sportsmanship as you do to your running."

"Yes ma'am," the red-head gave her one more cheesy, innocent grin.

As she began walking away, the bully gave the new arrival one more nasty look before heading to the front of the group.

"Why is he still in school?" the sable-haired boy asked to the people around him.

"Probably because the prisons didn't want him," Sasha quipped, causing a few of the students around her to snicker as they all got onto the track and into their running positions.

"Alright, ready? Go!" the middle-aged woman shouted and started her watch.

Immediately all the kids took off. The sound of multiple running shoes thumping the dirt rang through the field. Zetta felt his adrenaline increase, his blood pump faster, and he could've sworn that he heard his heart beating in his ears. He maintained a good pace near the middle alongside his "cousin", Sawyer, and Jack. He had noticed that Raf and Miko were falling a bit behind.

The Goth had noticed her friend's eyes wondering and spoke up, "Hey! Eyes ahead! You'll fall behind if you look back!"

Zettabyte immediately snapped his attention back to the front. He pushed a bit more when he saw he had fallen a foot or two behind his partner.

The raven-haired girl gave him an encouraging smile before turning her attention to the track.

Going into the third lap, the mechling-turned-human teen realized something. The people ahead who were running near Vince were moving away from the middle.

"What's going on up ahead?" the neutral youth asked Sawyer, without looking at him.

The African American teen rolled his eyes in aggravation as he explained, "Vince has a dislike for people who run neck and neck with him. So we all try to steer clear when we run beside or ahead of him."

"What? He can't possibly think that it's okay to boss others around for simply being faster than him!" "Zeke" protested.

"That's what he seems to think," the soccer-player sighed.

Zetta looked back to the front, eyes focused on the red-head. Those blue irises narrowed before he pushed forward. Something was fueling him. Anger? Determination? He wasn't sure.

"I hate running!" Miko gasped as began catching up a little with Jack, face sweaty and red.

"We're almost done," Jack soothed before something caught his eye. "Hey, check out Zeke!"

The Asian girl looked to where the obsidian-haired boy's eyes were looking and gapped, "Whoa."

The nature-lover's "cousin" was quickly passing everyone in front of him. A few of their classmates turned their heads a little to stare at the new arrival who had a focused look on his face. What happened next caused many jaws to fall in shock.

"Sasha, what's Zeke doing?!" cried someone from behind the Goth but she gave them no answer.

Zetta was running beside Vince.

The red-headed menace snapped his head to the side and shouted, "What are you doing? Beat it!"

"You're not the boss of me! I'll run in this lane as fast and long as I want to," Zettabyte rebuked defiantly, shocking himself by the tone of his own voice.

Just as they were nearing the end, neutral youth found himself being shoved to the ground.

He skidded on his chest a bit, scraping his elbows and knees. Dust blinded his sight temporarily and caused him to cough harshly. Rolling onto his back, he opened his eyes to stare at the sky. The scenery instantly changed as the silhouettes of several students leaned over him, expressions filled with worry and shock. One of them he recognized as Jack.

"Zeke, are you okay?! Here, let me help you up," Jack said as he held out a hand which the sable-haired boy gladly and gratefully grabbed as he was helped back up.

A few of the other students dusted him off and patted him on the back.

"Do you need water?"

"Man, that was a fall!

"I can't believe Vince did that!"

"He's not getting away with this!"

"Aww man, you cut your knee!"

The last one caused the mechling-turned-human teen to look down. Sure enough, his right knee had a scratch which had a few drops of blood already sliding down his leg.

He turned his head when he heard shouting and saw Ms. Ross gesturing angrily at Vince who, for the first time since Zetta arrived at school, looked rather nervous.

"Zeke! Are you okay?" Sasha cried as she ran up a grabbed his shoulder gently.

When she saw his cut knee, she saw red literally and figuratively. Her hands balled up into fists as her purple irises narrowed the bully who was too busy getting yelled at to notice the death glare being sent his way. She took one step towards him but two hands grabbed her shoulders softly but firmly.

"Easy Sasha. Vince is gonna get his comeuppance. There's no need to get yourself in trouble," Sawyer soothed.

"He's not worth it," Miko affirmed with a growl.

"Well someone needs to take Zeke to the nurse now," Raf piped up.

"I'll do it. C'mon Zeke," the obsidian-haired boy soothed as he ushered his classmate to the health office.

 _Elsewhere; near the strip mall_

Arcee sighed as she pulled up in the parking lot but kept "Sadie" activated.

Her patrol had not been fruitful by any means. No Energon, no reports back from the others, and NO Zetta.

She felt exhausted and angry. Where could he be? Was he somewhere they hadn't thought of looking yet? Was he with the Cons? The latter seemed most possible. There was no way for him to leave the planet and if he was sick and at the Morgan residence then Sasha wouldn't have said he was traveling. Could she be lying?

She wasn't so sure. While the raven-haired girl had hidden the Cybertronian teen for quite awhile, it wouldn't seemed likely that she would attempt it again. In fact, if something was wrong with her partner and she knew that someone else was responsible, she would not hesitate from confronting said person.

She sighed as she started driving off but then stopped as she noticed that she was not alone.

On the other side of the lot, facing away from her, was a familiar red sports car.

What was even more unnerving was that he was just…parked there. He was so still that she could have mistaken him for a normal Earth vehicle if it weren't for the energy signature she was getting. He seemed to be lowered to the ground. She was sure that if he were in robot mode he would be slouching.

Seeing him, alone and unaware of her presence, didn't threaten her. In fact, more than anything, she wanted to confront him. Not in an aggressive way but rather in a curious way. For a moment, she did not see him as the enemy. What she did see was two things; the father of her child and the mech she had loved in her younger years. And perhaps…she still did. Just as she was about to approach him, her comm. went off.

With a sigh, she quietly answered, "Arcee here."

[Arcee, your shift is over. It's Optimus and Bumblebee's turn. Please return to base,] Ratchet replied in a no nonsense tone. [And don't you dare try avoiding the Groundbridge. You can't help Zetta if you push yourself into utter exhaustion.]

Stiffling a snappish comeback and curse, she complied, "Alright. I'll start driving back now."

Giving a mild grunt of approval, the medic ended the comm. first. The femme gave an aggravated sigh and with one last stare at the Aston Martin, she drove off.

 _Back at the school; Third Person Perspective_

"Does your leg feel okay?" Sasha asked her "cousin" as they left the last class for the day.

"Of course. It was just a small scrape," Zetta nodded with a smile.

While the bully had been dragged to the principal's office, receiving a harsh lecture and detention no doubt, Jack had helped the sable-haired boy to the Nurse's Office. The nurse, Ms. Cane, had been very gentle with the new student. She had wiped his cuts with a mixture of warm water and disinfectant before placing bandages on them, applauding his good behavior as she did so. It reminded him of how when he or one of the other younglings he played with fell and his Amma would quickly tend to their injuries.

As he and Jack walked back to the gym, they passed the principal's office. They could hear the muffled scolding that the principal was laying down on Vince which made both boys smile. It was good to know that Vince would not be getting off easy today.

The rest of the school day went uneventful. All the classes were quiet and peaceful as could be and none of the students seemed to be interested in gossiping about what had transpired in gym class. Zettabyte was happy to pick up his belongings upon the end of the last class and follow his "cousin" to the Earth Club.

Back on Cybertron, the term clubs only referred to the ritzy brothels or bars of Iacon or any other noble populated area. And the groups that Zetta had interacted consisted of other mechlings and femmenets who were placed together by their upper class creators to socialize. However, those said wealthy youths were always more interested in themselves than in socializing. He could recall the bored tones and apathetic expressions they shared when they were forced to speak to each other. And even when he was among those with similar interests, something that didn't happen until he attended the academy, he found himself too preoccupied with projects and studies to fully talk with his fellow classmates. This would surely be a memorable moment.

Sasha hummed quietly to herself as she led her partner to the Earth Club room. She and her "cousin" nearly gagged as they passed Ms. Barker, her perfume far to overpowering for their, or anyone's, taste. It was quite a relief when they managed to get by without her notice. A couple of minutes later, they found their way to the club room. The Goth happily opened the door and allowed her male, sable-haired counterpart to take in the room. She grinned when she saw his obvious excitement and interest.

As soon as they entered, the club members who had not met him looked at him curiously before venturing over to say hello. After exchanging some greetings, "Zeke" took a seat on one of the bean bags in the front of the room. No sooner had he taken his seat did the door open and in walked Ms. Kissaryn. Today, she wore worn jeans with a red flannel button shirt that was open to reveal a pale yellow blouse with white flowers on it. She also wore brick red moccasins and had her hair in a bun.

"Hello kids. I hope you all had a nice weekend," she chirped, waiting for a few nods and murmurs of confirmation before continuing, "And a little bird told me that we have a special guest this week."

Sensing the attention being focused on him again, Zettabyte respectfully stood up.

"Ah, so you must be Zeke Torrance," the strawberry-blonde woman proclaimed.

"Yes ma'am," the neutral youth answered with a slow nod.

"Oh, no need for the 'Yes ma'am'. You may call me Ms. K," she cooed."

"Alright then, Ms. K," the mechling-turned human teen responded with a growing smile before sitting down.

"Great! Now as you all know, tomorrow is the bake sale. And I'll be the first to admit that I like to indulge myself. Well, maybe over-indulge is more like it," she joked, allowing the students to laugh as she took out a small tin, "Luckily, there will be a few healthy alternatives tomorrow. I myself, will be contributing to these alternatives. I do require a bit of help in deciding on what kind of alternatives to bring. I'm going to write suggestions on the board and number them. You will each get one small piece of paper and you will write the number of the treat that you think I should bake down. You will put them in this tin and I will go through them tonight. The one with the most votes is the one I will bake."

As kids came up to grab slips of recycled paper, they took notice of the list of treats; 1) Crazy Granola Balls, 2) Vanilla Bean Muffins, 3) Vegan Cheesecake Cupcakes, 4) Citrus Spice Cookies, and 5) Vegan Brownies with Dairy-Free Ganache Icing. Sasha and Zetta exchanged excited glances as they took slips of paper and went to sit down. Over five minutes went by before students began bringing their slips up to the front and dropped them into the tin either face down or folded up. Once everyone had submitted a slip, Ms. Kissaryn placed the lid back over the tin before she placed it back into her bag.

"Now back to business. We're having another Brainstorming Day. Anymore ideas?" the woman asked the class.

Gingerly, the sable-haired teen raised his hand, "I do. What if we send an email to the ones who are doing the baking a message asking them to bring recyclables and any food remains to school so we can recycle them and make a compost for the community garden?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Ms. Kissaryn cheered. "Anymore?"

"We can encourage more students to bring reusable water bottles to school. This would encourage more reusing and decrease any instances of littering," "Zeke" explained hopefully.

"I love it. Sasha, I must thank you for bringing your cousin here this week," the teacher said as she erased the board and wrote down the ideas.

The Goth and her "cousin" just shared a smile.

 _A little over an hour later; Third Person Perspective_

The Earth Club went their separate ways, happily snacking on the granola bars that Ms. Kissaryn had brought with her and handed out. A few were heading in other directions to be picked up while some ventured outside to wait on the steps. Seeing as how Sawyer had yet to appear meant that he was probably still occupied with practicing soccer moves with his teammates who were still on school grounds. Addie and Colette had gone home early to prepare their treats.

"So how did you like Earth Club?" the raven-haired girl asked as she nibbled on her Caramel Popcorn Crunch Quaker granola bar.

"Awesome!" he stated immediately as he finished his Cookies and Cream Quaker granola bar. "The kids are nice, Ms. K is amazing, the conversations are interesting and everything is just great!"

The nature-lover smiled happily until she heard a loud roar of an engine and screech of tires.

Both dark-haired teens twisted their heads to see some ritzy, blister red car arrive before a crowd of students. Among the crowd were Jack, Raf, Miko, Sierra, Isabella, Alan, Juliet, and a few other of their classmates. Both Sasha and Zetta strolled over to see what was up.

Inside the car were two boys and two girls. The boy in the driver's seat had dark curly hair and green-gray eyes. He wore jeans and a stylish jacket and a not-so-nice grin to top it off. His front seat passenger was girl with blonde hair and darker highlights. Like the driver, she wore stylish clothes but hers were a little skimpy. She had on a bit more makeup than any of the girls in the crowd. A sneer decorated her face with dark brown eyes that held a glint which mimicked that of a predator sizing up their prey. Their backseat counterparts, a brunette boy and dark-haired girl with lighter highlights, sat in the back, silently snickering as though they had just shared a private joke.

"Hey Jasper Wolves, ready to lose another trophy?" the driver asked snarkily.

"Oh shut up Damien," snapped one of the kids in the front which was followed by a round of "Yeah" from the others.

"Why are you guys here anyway?" Jack asked with a frustrated tone.

"What? Can't we visit our former high school?" the girl in the passenger seat asked in a fake, innocent tone.

"Considering what you guys did here, no," Juliet snapped. "Besides Eva, weren't your last words 'Good riddance'?"

The girl, Eva, didn't reply but her gaze narrowed.

"Sounds like you guys need to go back to kindergarten and learn some manners," Damien snorted with a look of contempt.

"Look who's talking," Miko snapped irritably.

Damien didn't respond but instead reached down and grabbed what looked to be an empty beer can and chucked it at her with an angry grunt.

Just as Miko was about to duck, a hand shot out from behind her and snatched the can so quick that it seemed that the can had evaporated in mid-air. Slowly, everyone turned to gap at the catcher.

"Zeke's" hand remained outstretched while still holding the can. His gaze narrowed dangerously, his blue irises giving the effect of sharp icicles ready to cut deep into their victims. There was a low murmur then a chorus of gasps as the neutral youth, in what seemed like slow motion, crushed the can so hard that when he unclenched his fist, the can looked like a disfigured hourglass.

Damien and his passengers visibly paled as he uttered, "What the-?!"

The mechling-turned-human teen stomped over to the car reached over with the hand that was still holding the crushed can, and dropped it into Damien's lap.

"You and your friends get out of here. _Now_ ," the sable-haired boy growled through clench teeth before he stepped back into the group.

Eva was the first to regain who composure as she angrily began, "Who do you think you-?!"

"HEY!"

Like her male counterpart, Eva was cut off. All eyes fell on the fast approaching figure of the principal. If the four interlopers hadn't been unnerved by the newcomer's behavior before then they were certainly mortified by the older woman who was just seconds away from their vehicle.

"Drive, drive!" Eva shrieked, hitting Damien on the shoulder.

The young driver wasted no time in accelerating his car and speeding away from the curb and the group of students.

"I know your plate number!" Principal Franklin yelled after the speeding car before turning to her students, "Are you kids alright?"

"We're fine Principal Franklin, thank you," Jack stated while the other nodded.

"Who were those guys?" Zetta curiously blurted out.

"And why were they harassing us?" Sasha spoke up in confusion.

"Those guys were Eva Shaw and Damien Thane, the tyrannical popular couple of the high school in the next county," Sierra explained. "And our former classmates."

"Former classmates?" the sable-haired boy echoed, sharing a look of disbelief with his "cousin".

"They were kicked out of our school in freshman year for creating a website. On the site they bashed the other students, leaked information about how to cheat or where there were college parties, made up false accusations about teachers. It was awful," Isabella explained, shivering in disgust.

"Their parents managed to keep them from being thrown in juvenile detention but the school board did allow the staff to expel them," Jack added before shaking his head. "Somehow, they managed to get into a different school."

"And from what we heard, they're back to their old habits," Raf put in with disdain.

"Let me guess, they're still holding grudges?" the raven-haired girl prodded before she was answered with several serious nods.

"Unfortunately, yes. It use to be just Internet-based but now that Damien got his driver's license, they've taken it a step higher," Juliet sighed in frustration.

"Well I'm putting a stop to this," Principal Franklin announced with determination as she began heading back to the school doors. "I will see you children tomorrow at the bake sale. For now, get home safely. Have a good evening."

A couple of the students replied with nods of agreement The moment the authoritative woman went back inside the building, "Zeke" became the focus of attention.

"Dude, that was awesome what you did! With the whole can thing and walking up to their car! You were freakin cool!" Miko complimented Zetta, jumpin excitedly.

"It was nothing, I've dealt with their kind before," Zettabyte replied modestly, eyes flickering towards the spot where the car had been.

"I have to agree with Miko, that was a pretty bold move," Alan confirmed. "But also dangerous. Eva and Damien are unpredictable and vicious when they want to be. For you to have stood up to them like you did was a risky move. You might have just become their new target."

At that moment, Sawyer, still in his red, black, and white soccer uniform, came jogging out of the doors.

"Hey Sasha, Zeke! You two ready to head home?" the soccer player asked with a smile before he saw their uncomfortable expressions.

"Uh, what did I miss?" he asked carefully.

Hey, I'm back! Sorry, this semester of college was even more hectic than the last. And I was so tired after finals that I had a hard time getting started back up. That and the fact that I was busy with my family. Once again I really am sorry. I will try to post more frequently before the next semester starts up. I thank all of you for your patience. I sincerely hope you enjoy this long awaited update. And hopefully, next winter I will post some seasonal fics.

Haters will be ignored, and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Bake Sales, Myths, and Earthquakes

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At Sasha's House: Third Person Perspective_

"Thanks for the ride Sawyer!" "Zeke" thanked happily as he helped the Goth carry bags of farmers' market groceries to the front door.

"I should thank you guys for purchasing extra goods for my grandma and I," Sawyer replied with a grin.

"It's the least we can do for the rides and for your grandma looking after Midnight," Sasha replied as the feline in question rubbed against her leg.

"It's nothing. Whelp, I'll see you two tomorrow!" the soccer player called as he drove off.

"See ya!" both dark-haired teens called out in unison before entering the house.

"Mrowr! Mrowr! Mrowr!" the small black mammal mewled insistently.

"We know baby, you're hungry. Don't worry, we didn't forget about you. We bought you a nice pouch of catnip," the sable-haired boy reassured. "You'll get some right now. Just be patient."

Midnight let out as satisfied purr as she sat back and watched her two unofficial owners put away the organic produce and products. This included organic fruit, vegetables, tofu, bread and grain items, and dried fruits and nuts. There were also organic eggs and dairy products, juices, organic sweets, and vegan versions. There also homemade jams, spreads, syrups, honey, and sauces. Alongside the catnip, there were homemade seasonings, spices, and home-grown herbs. They also bought non-edible organic products like soap, candles, and a few other things.

Grabbing a few sprigs of catnip, Zetta offered them to Midnight. She immediately took the sprigs and began playing with them, purring as she did.

"So, how about tofu roasted with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and sage with a side of wild rice and eggplants?" Sasha asked, having laid out a couple of ingredients to prepare into a meal.

"Sure! Sounds good to me!" the neutral youth agreed enthusiastically.

Just as they were about to start preparing the meal, there was a flash of light behind them. Both whipped around to see a familiar warping hole of green energy behind them. Stopping their preparations and picking up Midnight, they venture on.

 _In the Ghost Zone a few seconds later; Third Person Perspective_

As the two teens arrived in the Ghost Zone, they saw that Nephilus standing a few meters in front of them. This did not surprise them. What did surprise them was the man who was struggling to get away from the blue mech.

The man looked to be in between his late thirties or early forties. He was yanking on the chain that was attached to his wrist by a heavy looking clasp. On the other end of the chain was a ghostly blue clasp attached to Nephilus' servo. The most noticeable thing was that that the man was glowing a bright red. Zetta and Sasha realized that the individual beside his teacher was a Tainted. A soul of a bad human.

They could not tell the color of the man's hair, skin, eyes, or clothing due to the aura that made him look as though he had a bad sunburn and was emitting a medium glow. They could see that his clothes looked crisp clean, indicating that he lived a comfortable lifestyle when he was alive.

As soon as the spectre took notice of the two dark-haired humans, he stopped struggling and began moving towards them. Or rather tried to. With a rough yank by Nephilus, the Tainted flew backwards and landed on his back. Midnight snapped out of her catnip-infused haze and proceeded to hiss and spit at the unfamiliar being. Sasha held her in act of security for herself and her quadruped companion.

"Do that again. I dare you," the cobalt mech snarled at the lesser spirit before turning and smiling at the three in front of him, "Hello you guys. How was school?"

Being the first to regain his composure, the neutral youth answered, "It was great! I really enjoyed it."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. And everyone else will be too when they hear. They wanted to be here today but they're busy. We're having a few issues here," the spirit mech explained.

"Issues? What kind of issues?" the raven-haired girl asked with concern, trying to soothe Midnight.

"Oh, none that you kids need to worry yourselves with. We got a handle on things," the soul guider reassured, maintaining a positive tone and happy expression.

"We're always willing to help you Nephilus. You all have helped us so many times. The least we can do is return the favor," the sable-haired boy insisted kindly.

The older mech gave his student a softer smile, "That's truly generous Zetta. But really, everything is under control."

"Help me!" the Tainted screamed to the two teens and one cat.

The only reply he got from the trio was more growling and hissing from Midnight who made a swiping gesture at him, her claws outstretched to their fullest and her fur puffed out to make her look more intimidating. She did not care that the red-hued being in front of her was dead, she wanted to inflict _pain_.

Nephilus immediately became irritated again as he snarled at the human soul, "That's enough out of you Tom Dooley. You made your bed and now you shall lay in it."

"But I shouldn't be dead! I'm a good person!" the male spirit insisted in a mixture of frustration and desperation.

Nephilus growled, "You? A good person? Hah! Good people don't use violence against others or gaslight them! If you're such a good person then why was there nobody at your funeral except a few colleagues? Had you truly been a good person, you wouldn't be going to the Abyss, now would you?"

The ghost fell silent.

"Now that that's settled, I better send you three back. I'll tell the others you said hello. And you're coming with me," the last part that Nephilus' said was spoken with conviction and anger.

Tom proceeded to kick, tug, and scream up a storm again, begging for mercy. Holding the black cat close, Sasha made a quick exit through the portal which they came out of, followed closely by her partner.

 _On the Nemesis; Third Person Perspective_

Megatron stood facing the window of the _Nemesis_. Although his calm expression and stature gave nothing away, the Decepticons aboard the ship knew better. Their leader was like an avalanche of rage ready to fall at any moment.

Soundwave, despite being the most diligent, focused, and hard-working soldier in the army, found himself looking from the console he was typing at to his master. In all the millennia that the TIC had known the ex-gladiator, there had only been a few instances of Megatron being this quiet.

Neither of them ended well.

The warlord's claws flexed in silent vexation as the door opened and in strode his three generals, each having their own group of soldiers. The silent mech stopped what he was doing and waited to see what would go down. The silver mech didn't move to look at his followers and in turn his followers didn't dare speak before they were spoken to.

Not under these types of circumstances.

What seemed like an eternity passed, but was actually just under three minutes, before the Decepticon leader spoke without looking at them, "Have you found anything?"

Airachnid was the first to reply, calmly, "No, my lord. Still nothing."

"A few of the scouts are still out searching," Breakdown added helpfully, trying to hide the distress he was feeling within his spark.

They nearly jumped a foot in the air when the silver mech whipped around, preparing for a lashing of some sort.

Instead, the warlord coolly said, "Starting tomorrow, if you see an Autobot on your search, I want you to capture them and bring them here."

"My lord?" Knock Out questioned, though he knew what the ex-gladiator had in mind.

"If Zettabyte truly is within Autobot custody, then we must liberate him. To do that, we need a bargaining chip," Megatron informed cruelly.

"And if they still refuse?" the eight-legged femme pressed with morbid curiosity.

"Then Optimus Prime will have one less lackey," her master finished with malice.

 _The next day at the high school; Third Person Perspective_

Zettabyte dutifully followed his partner through the hallways towards the gym.

It was after school and five minutes until the bake sale would officially start. In the Goth's hands was a covered tray filled with her caramel apple cinnamon rolls. The raisins had been mixed into the dough and each roll was filled with the delicious apples, cinnamon, and other spices. They were then finished off with a glaze of homemade caramel sauce. The smell greatly mimicked a cross between someone's grandmother's kitchen and the carnival.

"I hope everyone likes these. I did a little change by using wheat flour and adding raisins to the dough," the nature-lover fussed.

"Calm down, we did a taste test. And personally, I think they were wonderful," the neutral youth stated confidently with a smile as he carried the backpack that held their furry friend.

From inside, they heard mewling, as if to say 'I agree'.

The raven-haired girl smiled from the encouragement as they entered the gym. The gym was packed with students, teachers, and visitors alike. While the students and teachers were still setting up, the visitors were waiting near the entrance. Although the parents and other adult or teen visitors were content with waiting, the children they had with them were starting to become antsy.

There were five tables covered with baby blue tablecloths and each one had about seven types of baked goods on it. The air was filled with perfumes that were not unlike those of a bakery or candy store. Each type of baked delicacy had a card perched in front of it, displaying the name and what was contained within it and its price.

"Sasha! Zeke! Over here!" Colette called from her position behind one of the tables.

The two dark-haired teens wasted no time in going over. Getting closer, they saw the baked goods that were on the table. Each dessert had a card that showed the name of the dessert; Fudge Chocolate Pretzel Brownies, Praline Eclairs, Dulce de Leche Conchas, Individual Peach Blueberry Pies, Tiramisu Cupcakes, and Lemon Sugar Cookies with Raspberry Frosting.

"Here! You can put your rolls right here," Adalia said, gesturing to an empty spot near the front of the table.

Sasha obliged, placing her tray down before speaking, "Thanks Addie. Wow, all of these look so good."

"Yeah, they do!" "Zeke" agreed as he scanned the sweets on the table.

"Alright everybody!" Principal Frankling announced loud enough for all to hear her. "The Bake Sale is now open! Everyone enjoy!"

The moment she finished, the visitors began moving toward the tables, some being forced to chase after their children who were all too eager to get their small hands onto the various pastries and desserts.

"Try my eclairs! It took a lot of work, but I got them just right," the auburn-haired girl encouraged happily, holding two out to her friend and her "cousin" on a napkin.

"And after you do, try some of my conchas!" the young Latina put in excitedly, doing the same.

They first tried the éclairs. They were sweet, rich, and had subtle nutty hint to them. Satisfying and divine. The two then moved on to the conchas. They were soft but still had good texture. The flavor of caramelized sweetened milk was smooth and melt-on-your-tongue delicious. Elegant and enthralling.

In spite of the two bakers' protests, the Goth and neutral youth paid for their treats. While they were grateful for the fact that Colette and Adalia wanted to give their friends free treats, they knew that any money donated would be of great importance to the school.

"It's too bad that Sawyer can't be here," Zetta mused as he handed the money to Colette who went to hand it to Principal Franklin who placed in a safe box.

Sawyer was at soccer practice with his teammates again, wanting to work up an appetite for the desserts his friends promised to save for him.

"Oh, he'll get here soon," Adalia reassured.

"Hey Sasha! Hey Zeke!" Sierra said, striding quickly over to the nature-lover and mechling-turned human teen with Isabella by her side.

"Hey you two," the nature-lover replied while her "cousin" waved politely. "What did you guys contribute to the bake sale?"

Smiling, Isabella gestured to the Pretzel Brownies, "It's my grandma's recipe. I just tweeked it by adding chocolate chips and pretzels so people with nut allergies can get some."

"And I made a toffee blondie version of them," Sierra added, pointing to a plate of golden tan squares on a table nearby. "It's for people with chocolate allergies or who aren't fans of chocolate."

"Wow, both sound good," the sable-haired boy commented politely and sincerely with a bright smile.

"I'll go get you one," Sierra immediately stated as she hurried to grab one while her blonde companion grabbed a brownie with a napkin and offered it to the new arrival.

All of a sudden, the gym doors slammed open. Heads whipped around. The voices in the room quieted. In strode Corrine Barker, an excessively cheerful smile on her face. In her hands was a plate of what looked to be cookies. She proudly strode over to one of the tables where she promptly settled her plate down in the front of the table. The volume of voices rose back to their regular volume but there was a slight atmosphere of tension in the gym.

"Oh…it's Ms. Barker," the blonde girl huffed in a tone that was less than happy.

"I was hoping she wouldn't show," Colette muttered irritably.

"You guys sure don't seem happy to see her. Are you still mad about what she did in the lunch room yesterday?" "Zeke" asked carefully.

"We wish," Adalia grumbled. "Her culinary skills are atrocious."

"I understand her attempts to encourage healthy eating and I respect that. But healthy eating doesn't mean to make tasteless dishes," Colette protested. "Even real health nuts know how to make their dishes taste good."

"She's that bad?" Sasha asked apprehensively, afraid to know the answer.

Adalia nodded her head, "My mom and dad said that when they went to a parent-teacher potluck, she brought cupcakes. One of the other parents tried them and it turns out that they were as hard as rocks! What's worse is that one of the women who had been talking with Ms. Barker told her that she saw an empty box of store-bought cake mix in her trash can!"

Just then Sierra came back with two blondies in hand.

"Did you hear how quiet the room went when Ms. Barker came in? I swear, I haven't heard quiet like that since I went to my first sleepover and heard the tale of Kyle Korman," Sierra commented with a shake of her head.

"Who's Kyle Korman?" Zettabyte asked.

"Yeah, who is he?" the Goth questioned.

"Nobody has told you guys?" Isabella probed with a bit of shock to which both dark-haired teens shook their heads.

"It's been passed down from one generation of Jasper residents for a little over thirty years," the blonde explained.

"Well, why don't you guys tell us?" the mechling-turned-human teen persisted.

Sasha nodded as well, looking very intrigued.

"Okay then. Sierra, tell them," the blonde insisted to her friend.

Sierra nodded before she began, "It happened around 1985. Kyle Korman was a new kid from Florida. His parents divorced after his mom found out that his dad was having an affair with the next door neighbor. She was happy to move and get away from her ex-husband. Kyle was miserable with a capital M. He had left everything behind, friends included, when he moved. Embittered by the move and divorce, he made no attempt to fit in at school. He didn't speak to anyone, he sat alone at lunch, and he would often be found sulking in the most secluded corner of the library."

Both nature-lover and her "cousin" listened intently.

"To help him adjust to his new school, the faculty gave him the position of Hall Monitor. And it worked. He started to be more confident and talkative. Everything was going great. Until it happened," Sierra uttered before nodding for Isabella to pick up.

"What happened?" Sasha asked.

The blonde picked up the story, "His position got to his head. He started using it to blackmail students into giving him whatever he wanted and harass the students who he disliked. Despite numerous complaints to the teachers and the principal at the time, nothing was done about it. It's believed that Kyle was a terrific liar and actor. One day, a group of students decided to get back at him by spreading a rumor that he was stalking the entire cheerleading team. No one could have predicted what happened next."

"What?" Zetta persisted.

Isabella sighed before continuing, "The rumor changed. It went from him stalking the entire squad to…assaulting just one girl…the head cheerleader. Her brother, one of the line backers of the football team, heard the rumor. His big-brother instincts and hatred for Kyle overcame his sense to ask his sister or tell his parents. It also didn't help that Kyle had given him and his friends multiple detention slips. He and a group of his pals formed a plan to teach Kyle a lesson. They planned to leave a note in his locker that read for Kyle to meet his 'secret admirer' out in the desert."

"He did what the letter told him to do, right?" the raven-haired girl probed, anticipation running high.

"Oh, yes he did," Sierra put in, taking charge, "He snuck out while his mom was at work. He arrived on the far side of the desert where there were ditches, boulders, and desert predators running around. He just stood and waited. Then the line backer and his group arrived. Kyle realized too late that it was a trap. And true to his word, the line backer took revenge on Kyle for his "crime"."

Sasha and "Zeke" drew in closer.

Sierra began shuddering a bit as she told them, "It was horrible. The story goes that they beat him around before they tied him up. They had originally planned on hanging him by his feet on one of the goal posts back at the school. That was until they spotted an old, banged up car. Certain that Kyle would commit the same crime that the rumor claimed he did if they let him go, the group decided that they would not give him that chance. They threw him still tied up into the trunk, made sure that it locked, and they pushed it into the deepest ditch they could find before driving away."

"The police searched for a couple of weeks. They gave up after awhile, believing that Kyle just ran away and didn't want to be found. None of his classmates questioned his disappearance and they certainly didn't tell the police about the rumor," Isabella explained. "However, that's not the end. At the ten year reunion, the truth came out. The people who had a hand in Kyle's demise went to the place where he was abandoned at. They found that the trunk was unlocked and there was nothing to indicate that Kyle had been inside or where he had left too."

"The car is still there though," Sierra spoke up. "They say that if you go inside of it at night and sit in it, you will hear the sound of banging and muffled screaming. But don't ever investigate. Just ignore it. Because if you do, Kyle's spirit will pop out from the trunk, grab you, and pull you in to whatever dark place he resides in."

There was silence for a few moments.

"So, nobody knows what became of him?" Zettabyte pressed. "Surely there's another explanation for his disappearance. A non-paranormal, logical one."

"Well, a lot of people think that Kyle got free and he either he got lost in the desert, hitch-hiked and got picked up by the wrong people, or became coyote food," Adalia stated simply. "Pretty gruesome but more logical."

"But do you guys actually believe that hold thing about muffled screaming and investigating leads to your doom stuff?" Sasha pressed with cursiosity.

"Well not really. But it is pretty frightening," the blonde explained.

Before either dark-haired teen had time to ponder, Juliet came over.

"Hey guys! Ms. Kissaryn just came in. You won't believe what she brought. Come see!" Juliet told her fellow club members before hurrying off.

"Well we better go see," the sable-haired boy said as he paid for the blondies and brownies. "Thank you guys so much."

"You're welcome," both girls giggled before taking the money over to the principal.

As the neutral youth and Goth headed to where the Earth Club was gathering, they took note of the other treats. There were tarts, cakes, breads, muffins, cream puffs, and other baked items. Some had taken a chance and made more popular treats like cake pops. A good number of the items were healthy and vegan. Granola cups filled with yogurt and fruit, vegan cheesecake, healthy rice crispy squares and fruit squares with crumble on them, bran oatmeal muffins, and a few others. There were even some savory choices like spicy cornbread muffins, cheese biscuits, and herb and garlic scones.

They soon came to the table where Ms. Kissaryn was located, surrounded by the other Earth Club members. They saw that she was hovering over not one but three plates of goodies. One was labeled Crazy Granola Balls and held perfect sphere that consisted of, according to the card and the appearance, granola, almond butter, dried fruit, and other ingredients. Another had her Citrus Spice Cookies, warm sun-kissed cookies with specks from the spices and emitting the smell of orange blossoms.

The surprise treat was a loaf of bread. It was a lovely deep brown color, speckled with flecks of oats, and had a soft aroma that reminded you of a warm summer day in a flower-filled meadow. It was cut into slices, revealing the inside to be a light tan speckled with pieces of dried fruit and nuts.

"Wow, this looks really good," Sasha said as she and her partner's plates were soon ladled with two granola balls, three cookies, and a slice of the bread each.

"Well there was a tie between the cookies and granola balls. Then last night I found an old recipe of my grandmother's," the strawberry blonde woman smiled modestly. "Pretty wholesome and delicious if you ask me. Go on, give it a try."

Simultaneously, the two dark haired teens bit into the bread first. It was somehow still warm and soft. Then came the crunch of the nuts and the chewiness of the dried fruit. That was followed by the subtle test of the more blended ingredients and spices.

"So, how is it?" Ms. Kissaryn asked though she held a knowing smile.

"Amazing!" "Zeke" announced happily as he swallowed his first bite.

"Oh, yum! It reminds me of when my grandparents would take me to the countryside for Spring Break and we would make pastries and bread," the Goth purred.

The Earth Club founder laughed light-heartedly, followed by her students.

"Hey Zeke! Over here!" the voiced shouted as they turned to see Jack happily waving them over.

Bidding Ms. Kissaryn goodbye, they moved over to where the onyx haired boy was standing.

"Hi Jack," the neutral youth greeted with a grin. "Did you just get here?"

"Yup. My mom and I made a fresh loaf of vegan pumpkin bread. Wanna try some?" Jack asked as he gestured to an auburn-colored loaf dotted with pumpkin seeds and sliced to reveal a light amber colored interior.

"Yes please," both Goth and mechling-turned-human teen affirmed as they handed him some money which he handed to a passing Principal Franklin.

Jack proudly grabbed the tongs beside the loaf and picked up one slice each and placed it on their plates.

Zetta immediately took a bite, "Wow, this is really good."

"You can't even tell that it's different from normal pumpkin bread," the raven-haired girl complimented with a smile.

"Well considering that my mom is lactose-intolerant and that she loves health food, she's pretty skilled in making vegan pastries taste amazing," the junior explained with a smile. "And she's been teaching me a thing or two."

Zettabyte smiled until he looked behind Jack.

Sitting in a chair against the wall was Miko. She had a dull look on her face, even as she munched on chocolate cupcake with a vanilla cream filling and dark chocolate frosting.

"Hey, what's the matter with Miko?" "Zeke" asked immediately, confused and slightly unnerved by the Asian girl's sullen expression.

Jack turned his head and winced as he looked as his despondent friend before saying, "She got shot down by the Art and Music clubs again. Raf and I are trying to cheer her up by buying her some desserts."

The sable-haired boy's eyes softened as he strode over to the foreign exchange student.

As soon as he was right in front of her, he politely asked, "May I sit with you?"

The female punk rocker took one look at him and nearly dropped her cupcake as her eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks were painted with a blush of rose pink.

"Uh, sure!" she immediately responded.

The mechling-turned-human teen promptly plopped down in the chair next to Miko.

A moment of shy silence passed before he asked, "So, how are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess," she mumbled, licking frosting off her fingers.

"Really? Because usually when someone's at a bake sale, they're happily socializing with others. Yet here you are, sitting alone. Why is that?" the neutral youth pressed gently.

The Asian girl sighed before mumbling, "It's my math class. The teacher gave me an extra credit packet to turn in by Friday and he says he's gonna put extra credit questions on the test we have that day. It's suppose to bring my grade to at least a C+. I really need this so I can get into the clubs I want."

"So, what's the problem?" Zetta pressed though he already knew what she would say.

"I suck at math. I'm never going to get my grade up," the punk rocker vented, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Nobody's perfect. For example, I cannot play an instrument to save my life," the sable-haired boy told Miko.

It was the truth. While the Cybertronian teen loved listening to music, playing it was an impossible feat. The first time he tried to play a musical instrument, he had nearly deafened his would-have-been music teacher. Yes, Theta did offer him comfort but he could never forget that embarrassing moment.

"Really?" the foreign exchange student asked with intrigue.

"Yup. I can't believe that no musicians have burned me at the stake yet," the neutral youth joked.

This caused Miko to burst out laughing which became contagious and resulted in Zettabyte following her example. However, their mirth screeched to a halt when they heard a yelling. Heads turned to see a young girl, no older than five, crying. Her hands were balled into small fists and a crumbled cookie lay at her feet. Closer inspection would show that it was one of Ms. Barker's cookies. She and two adults, most likely her parents, were standing by a table that held Corrine's cookies. The mother was red-faced and looked ready to massacre the one who had given her child the treat while the father held his stomach, groaning in discomfort. Meanwhile Corrine looked shocked, nervous, and embarrassed all at the same time.

"I hate these cookies! They taste terrible!" the little girl wailed.

"Yikes," "Zeke" hissed with a wince.

"Double yikes. That's the first time I ever heard a little kid say they hated cookies," commented the foreign exchange student said with an uneasy look.

They watched as the girl's mother roughly pulled the older woman into a corner for what seemed to be some sort of private conversation. By the way the woman was gesturing with her arms and whispering things at the speed of light, it was obvious that Corrine was being verbally ripped a new one.

"Anyway," the mechling-turned-human teen started, trying to ignore the sudden disruption. "We all have things we're good at and things we're not so good at. But if you really want to do better in math, if only to join the clubs, then I can tutor you."

"What? Really?" came Miko's surprised reaction, looking as though he had just offered to give her a hundred dollars.

"Sure, I don't see why not," the sable-haired boy replied casually.

"Thank you!" she agreed before hugging him.

"Zeke" had been taken off guard but after a few seconds, he reciprocated the hug.

Not too soon after the hug ended, they were approached by the nature-lover.

"Hey Zeke! You'll never guess who came to the bake sale!" Sasha announced with a grin.

"Who?" the neutral youth asked curiously.

"Ruth! C'mon!" the raven-haired girl exclaimed before darting off.

"I'll see you later Miko," "Zeke" stated quickly with a wave as he hurried off after his "cousin."

He found the Goth happily chatting with her elderly friend.

"Ruth! Hello!" the sable-haired boy said happily as he ran right up to greet the woman.

"Well, hello. It's so good to see you," Ruth laughed gently as she hugged the boy.

"It's good to see you too. What brings you here?" he asked as he broke apart from the hug.

"I'm here with my family. They're visiting today and I remembered that your cousin mentioned a bake sale so I decided to ask them if they would like to go. They said yes," the old woman shrugged simply with a smile before gesturing to three couples with toddlers and pre-teens among them.

"And of course I couldn't leave out an old acquaintance and his friends," the elderly woman added.

"What old acquaintance?" Sasha inquired curiously.

"That would be me."

Both dark-haired teens turned their heads to see Dr. Ocutis walking over.

"Dr. Ocutis? I didn't know you were a friend of Ruth's," the Goth claimed in shock but remained polite.

"Well, she helped me with my younger patients back in the days and in return, I gave her children and grandchildren free check-ups," the old man chuckled. "Plus she use to tutor my Skyla before she retired. Speaking of who, here she comes."

At that moment, Skyla appeared out of the crowd. What made the nature-lover and neutral youth curious was the other girl walking behind her. She looked to be around Skyla's age though a bit shorter. She had dark hair and brown eyes that seemed to be taking in her surroundings tentatively.

"Hi Skyla!" Zetta said with a friendly wave.

"Hi guys!" Skyla greeted back.

"Hi Skyla. Who's your friend?" Sasha asked, smiling kindly at the girl who gave a little smile back but kept her head ducked as though she were afraid of the result of her showing emotion.

"This is my friend Talia. She's staying with my family while her parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary in Hawaii," Skyla explained before focusing on her friend.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Talia," "Zeke" said in a friendly manner as he outstretched his hand to be shaken.

He was surprised when the girl almost jumped back and took a few seconds to return the greeting. Her handshake was loose and quick, as though she wanted to have as little contact as possible. She seemed less shy when she shook hands with the raven-haired girl.

"Can I go sit down, please? I'm…not feeling too good," Talia stated meekly.

"It's 'May I' and yes you may," Dr. Ocutis answered, smiling gently but his eyes held pity.

"Thank you," the dark-haired girl weakly grinned before moving towards the side of the gym where there were chairs.

"Is she alright? Did I do something wrong?" the mechling-turned-human teen asked when Talia was out of ear-shot, a look of guilt crossing his face.

"It's not your fault. She's been through a lot. A few months back, her boyfriend was killed in a car accident," Skyla explained with unease.

"Aw scrap, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hit on her or anything. I was just trying to be nice. Honest!" the sable-haired teen apologized instantly, a look of horror in his voice and eyes.

"It's not that she thought you were hitting on her. She and her boyfriend …had problems. They had a big fight before the accident and she's still feeling some sort of guilt. She's still recovering which means she's being cautious of guys outside her family and friends," the eye doctor's granddaughter stated.

"Oh, well we're sorry for her loss and her struggles," Sasha spoke up carefully.

"Well I thank you for the latter, the former is something you don't have to give your condolences for. If you knew what kind of guy he was, you wouldn't feel sorry," Skyla said, her tone hardened and her eyes glazed over with disgust and resentment though not at the two other teens.

Both nature-lover and neutral youth took notice of the elderly man's reprimanding look but there was something behind that look that said that he agreed with her.

"I'm gonna go check on her. It was great seeing you two again," Skyla said, giving them a small wave before striding to where Talia went.

"Meet us at the cookie table in a bit sweetheart," Dr. Ocutis called after her before turning his attention back to Ruth. "Why don't we go over to the table near the door? I hear they're selling carrot cake over there."

Ruth laughed and nodded as they began moving away, "Alright. Bye Sasha, Zeke. It was good seeing you two again."

The two dark-haired teens bid farewell before going in the opposite direction.

As they went around busying themselves with talking to people and munching on the treats they purchased, Zetta thought hard on what Skyla had said. It wasn't just the things she said, it was the way she said them and the looks in her eyes when the words left her lips. There was a strong conviction in her tone and the neutral youth could see that something lay behind her eyes when she said it. Something that was akin to…guilt. And perhaps a little bit of relief. But about what exactly?

Even as he and Sasha enjoyed themselves, that question nagged at the back of his head. An hour or so later, a couple of minutes before the bake sale would end, both nature-lover and her "cousin" walked up to the principal who was helping the students in charge of the money box count. Zettabyte could not help but notice that a great majority of the baked goods were gone. While he was glad, knowing that it meant his partner's school most likely had a surplus of money, he felt a stroke of pity as he stared at Ms. Barker's cookie plate. Other than the three cookies taken and thrown away by the small family, no one had gone near the table. He did not see the woman but if he could take a crazy guess, she was probably held up somewhere in the school, feeling sorry for herself.

"Hello Principal Franklin, how did the bake sale do?" the raven-haired girl asked politely.

The high school principal finished counting and smiled at the girl, "We've, made over three-hundred and fifty dollars."

"Really? That's awesome!" the Goth replied sincerely with a smile.

"Yes, this is one of the most successful bakes sales that we've had in years. Having more healthy and savory options alongside the traditional sugary ones was a good choice," Principal Franklin stated as she snapped the box shut.

"What kind of things will you do with the money?" Zetta asked curiously.

"Well there's a number of things that we could use the money for but I would start with-," the principal's words halted when a plate before them began vibrating.

It quickly vibrated off the table, and as it did, seem to levitate for more than a couple of seconds before hitting the floor. That's when the trembling turned into full on shaking making everyone jump a good foot or two in the air.

"It's an earthquake!" a student shrieked.

"Everyone down under the tables and chairs and cover your heads!" one of the teachers roared.

Nobody waited for the sentence to be finished as students, parents, and teachers alike ran for cover. Many squeezed themselves beneath the tables and chairs. The few people who were left out, in their panic and desperation, squeezed themselves into the corners of the gym, covering the back of their heads and necks while curling into balls.

"Zeke" and Sasha both hid under the table alongside Principal Franklin. The nature-lover's "cousin" held her tight against him with one arm as his other was hanging onto one of the table legs. The screams continued with the shaking which seemed to go on for millennias. In truth, it was only about three or five minutes.

Then it stopped.

As the worlds stabilized around the gym's occupants, heads curiously turned upwards and looked around. The more brave souls, which included Principal Franklin, stood up and gazed around. Just as they were about to give the okay for the others to come out, one of the fluorescent gym lights began buzzing and creaking. Immediately, the light came loose and plummeted towards the ground. The ones who had stood up just barely ducked into safety as glass and sparks flew out.

Silence.

Then high school principal spoke, "The first thing we'll be doing with the money is to get that light fixed. Along with other safety measures."

 _Half an hour later: Outside the school_

Zettabyte cradled a apple juice box in one hand as he stood beside his "cousin" who was sipping from a grape juice box. The cartoonish fruits on the containers were quite childish but the mechling-turned human teen was not complaining. After all the baked goods and excitement, he realized just how thirsty he was.

Paramedics had been called right after everyone had evacuated the gym. It had taken them quite awhile to get to the high school and Zetta dreaded whatever was the reason for that. The adults still seemed shaken but the kids and pre-teens were quick to shake off. He felt a bit nervous upon seeing Ms. Darby among the paramedics, shooting concerned looks back at her own child who was sitting a little ways away from her with Miko. Raf was being hugged and kissed by a couple and a few teens and pre-teens, no doubt his parents and siblings.

Everyone was trying to busy themselves. Sawyer had appeared not too long after the earthquake had ended with the rest of his team. Sasha had taken this opportunity to give the soccer-player the caramel apple cinnamon roll she had been saving for him. While he did accept it, he seemed to be more interested in her welfare than anything else. Corrine, who looked as though she had just applied a fresh coat of makeup, came running out. She tried to take control of the whole situation but was shot down quickly by Principal Franklin's authority and several dirty looks from the parents. Ruth, Dr. Ocutis, Skyla, and Talia had left along with Ruth's family once the paramedics had finished checking them.

Taking a sip from his juice box, provided by one of the parents, he spoke, "You know, that earthquake…it seemed really familiar to the one on Friday."

"What do you mean?" the Goth inquired.

"The way that plate fell. And how high everyone jumped when the shaking began, it was very similar to what I felt during Friday's earthquake when I was with Raf," her partner explained in a lowered tone.

The nature-lover thought a little on it, "Come to think of it, I did feel like I almost lifted into the air."

"That seems a little too much for some coincidence, wouldn't it?" "Zeke" murmured.

"It does sound pretty off," the raven-haired girl couldn't help agreeing.

Their conversation was cut short when the obsidian-haired nurse approached them.

"Hello Sasha, how are you and your cousin holding up?" June asked with a motherly tone.

"We're fine Ms. Darby, thank you," the nature-lover responded kindly.

"Yes, no scrapes, bumps, or bruises. Thank you ma'am," the mechling-turned-human teen answered the single mother.

"You must be Zeke. My son has told me about you," the obsidian-haired woman claimed kindly.

"Good things, I hope," the neutral youth chuckled good-naturedly.

"He told me that you really enjoyed my vegan pumpkin bread," the nurse mentioned with a modest smile.

"Yes, it was really awesome. Just like my mother's cooking," Zetta stated.

"Yes, Jack did mention that your diet was similar to your cousin's and that your mother is a healthy cooker," June replied.

"Yeah! She always makes everything homemade and I-," the sable-haired began but stopped as he took note of the Darby matriarch's eyes focusing on something behind him.

He turned and felt his blood run cold.

Just a couple of feet away from them were a familiar group of vehicles. Standing by each one were people he had never seen before.

The man near the SUV looked o be in his early thirties and dark-skinned with darker hair and stubble. He wore a green muscle shirt with dark gray pants and boots. The next man was taller than the first and quite muscular, standing near the semi-truck. He seemed to be older than the first as well, late thirties or perhaps early forties. His skin was lightly tanned and he had dark brown hair and beard. He wore a dark red shirt under a red, white, and blue jacket and blue denims with black work boots. The next guy looked to be around Jack's age and stood by muscle car. His skin a darker tan color than his older counterpart's and went well with his blonde hair with black highlights. He wore a white shirt under a black and yellow jacket with dark black jeans and black tennis shoes. The last one was the only woman in the group and the apparent owner of the only motorcycle. She wore and black and blue biker suit and boots which covered much of her body excluding her head. Her skin color was between the eldest man's skin and the teen's skin. Her hair was a silky black with a hidden pink highlight and she looked to be in her early or mid thirties, perhaps June's age. All four had sky blue eyes.

Zettabyte looked back at the single mother and his heart almost stopped as he saw the cold look on her face. Before anyone could say anything else, Ms. Darby stomped over to the group. Sasha, having also sensed the obsidian-haired woman's ire, began watching he scene about to play out as well.

The man near the SUV and the teen both backed up, afraid of the oncoming wrath of a mother. The man near the truck and the woman straightened up and stood their ground.

Once June was right in front of the group, she stood firmly and looked the truck man directly in the eyes. They were locked into eye contact for awhile. Finally, the single mother relaxed.

As if there was some unspoken communication, the nurse coolly said, "You can see them for eight minutes."

Immediately, the SUV man, teen boy, and woman began to respectively walk over to Miko, Raf, and Jack. "Zeke" and Sasha tried not to panic as they shot him curious glances whilst walking past them.

The eight minutes passed too slow for either dark-haired teens' taste. Both sent a silent prayer when their three classmates failed to call the neutral youth over to meet their friends.

The quartet left just in time as the Sandersons arrived. Miko had been notified that they had been driving when the earthquake hit and Mr. Sanderson had swerved and hit a streetlight. They had been mildly shaken up and would be arriving late but they had sounded quite relieved to learn she had been unharmed. The Asian girl's host parents quickly began asking her questions to double-check that she was alright. Mrs. Sanderson went so far as to hug her host daughter before they ushered her into the car.

As the car pulled away, Miko gave one last wave to "Zeke" who gladly returned it.

"C'mon Zee, the excitement's over," the nature-lover said as she pulled her partner to where Sawyer and his grandmother were as Midnight stuck her head out and meowed for the first time since the commotion.

"Yeah, but for how long?" he asked her, his tone dazed yet concerned.

Hey, here's another chapter. Once again, I'm sorry for the delay. Spring semesters are always an extra busy time for me. Projects, exams, essays, and homework/studying. I won't lie, updates may be dicey until after Spring Finals. For everyone who has been waiting, I apologize again and I sincerely thank you for the encouragement and patience. I promise I will try to be quicker once this hectic period passes.

Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Dares, Study Buddies, and PTA Drama

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own my fanfic ideas and OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At the school: Third Person Perspective_

"Well, yesterday was…very unexpected," Zettabyte stated quietly chomped down on his vegetarian black bean burger with whole wheat buns with a side of sweet potato fries and a Pepsi.

"Tell me about it. My mom was so scared, she barely got any sleep last night. She kept checking in on me, during the night. Like she was worried that another earthquake would come and cause the roof to fall on me," Jack explained worriedly.

"Yeah, that earthquake was rockin!" Miko joked, trying to bring in some mirth.

"That's not funny," Sasha scolded as she chewed on her quinoa, teriyaki tofu, and steamed broccoli.

"She's right. The Sandersons came over and checked on us every hour last night," the sable-haired boy claimed as he dipped one of his fries in some homemade dip.

"My grandma and I almost slept in the living room just so we could be right near the door if the earthquake began again," Sawyer put in as bit into a homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

"I don't think anyone can look back at last night and laugh," Raf said sheepishly.

"Okay, okay I get it. Let's just drop it," the Asian girl huffed.

A few minutes of silent eating went by before Sawyer stood up and said, "I gotta use the restroom. Be right back guys."

They all nodded as the soccer player headed off to the boys' bathroom.

As soon as he vanished from sight, Zettabyte spoke, "Hey, I noticed those people who came up to you guys after the earthquake. The ones with the SUV, the motorcycle, the one with the truck, and the muscle car. Friends of yours?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Jack immediately stated quickly. "We've known them for sometime."

"Some of the students here said that they've seen your friend with the SUV going around and picking fights with some guys in purple muscle cars," "Zeke" stated carefully. "They think your friend is in a gang."

"What?! He is not!" Miko exclaimed in shock.

"Well, I believe you. But I think it would be hard to convince the other students of this," the sable-haired boy explained. "All I'm saying is that maybe you should tell your friend to lay low. If your friend is innocent as you say, then I don't want him to be arrested because someone at this school called the cops on him out of fear."

"Listen to Zeke. I mean, think about it. If someone called the cops on your friend after they see him getting into a fight, it could lead to a warrant for his arrest," the Goth put in logically.

"They both have a point Miko," Raf put in.

The foreign exchange student looked from her friends to the mechling-turned-human teen.

Sighing, Miko consented, "Alright. Jack, can I use your phone after school? The Sandersons are only letting me use my phones for emergencies until I'm done being grounded."

"Sure thing Miko," Jack replied with a nod.

Just then, Sawyer returned.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" he asked good-naturedly.

"Nothing much," they all said in unison.

Sawyer just blinked before laughing.

 _A few hours later_

"So, these PTAs are so that parents and teachers could discuss issues concerning students and the school itself?" Zettabyte asked his partner as they walked down the halls.

Classes had ended for the day and clubs were cancelled so that the faculty could prepare for the parents who were coming. This, for the two dark-haired teens, meant no Earth Club. On the bright side, they would be able to head home early and get a head start on homework. What's more was that it would allow Sasha and Zetta to prepare for the arrival of Miko, Jack, and Raf for their study group. Sawyer was busy helping his grandmother take some food over to her friends' who lived awhile away. Colette and Adalia, who had been absent during lunch due to volunteering to help clean up the supplies in the cooking class, were going to out to buy more supplies. The equipment remained in piece but ingredients like eggs, milk, and other fluid items were damaged and spilled during the earthquake and needed to be replaced.

So it would just be the four teens and one mature pre-teen.

"It's nice of Ms. Darby to be giving us all a ride to our house alongside the others," the neutral youth stated.

Sasha nodded with a smile, "I can't believe Miko is this excited to get tutored by you."

"I can't believe that either. Especially considering how she refused Raf's help. Hopefully, this will let her get the grade she wants in Math," the mechling-turned-human teen commented hopefully.

As they got outside, however, they took note of a familiar car parked in the parking lot. It did not take them long to figure out it was Damien's car. They were proven right when the two teenage menaces came out and began strolling up to Jack, Raf, and Miko. All three of team Prime's charges turned when they sensed an unfriendly presence. Jack wasted no time in pushing Raf and Miko behind him protectively. This only made Damien and his girl sneer before he went closer and shoved the onyx-haired teen.

That was enough for "Zeke."

Running towards the five individuals, he felt his Energon-turned blood pump hard and fast as his mind burned with anger. In no time at all, he found himself standing between his friends and the two unwanted visitors.

"Back. Off," Zetta found himself growling, blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

The former students of the school took a step back in surprise before challenging the neutral youth with glares of their own.

"What are you? Their babysitter?" Eva asked before following it with a high-pitch guffaw that, to the other students including Zettabyte, sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"No. I'm their friend. Unlike you two," the mechling-turned-human teen replied firmly.

"So, your friends with a baby, some Tokyo chick, and a loser Mama's boy?" Damien shot back with a laugh of his own.

"You mean an intelligent kid who's probably gonna be your boss someday, a girl with more talent in one pinky than anything you have in your whole body, and a cool guy who works for what he wants and actually makes his mother proud? Yes, I am," "Zeke" spat proudly though his face was still etched into a hard glare. "And maybe that's why you're bugging them.

"Excuse me?" Eva demanded, sensing something behind the last part.

"You heard me. They have actual talents and a sense of ethics along with hard work to get where they want. Sure, there might be days where they don't reach the level of success they want. Well, guess what? I have those days too. Everyone does," the sable-haired boy ranted. "The only ones here who think that people's differences in their talents, backgrounds, social lives, and whatnot warrants them as pariah material are you two!"

"You better shut it," Damien said warningly.

However, Zetta would not yield.

"Tell me something. Do you feel proud that you got yourselves kicked out of this school? Do you think your parents' are proud? Do you think they took any pleasure when the school told them what you two did and how they had to kick you two out? Because, while I may not be a parent, I'm certain that having to move your child to a new school because of their poor behavior is one of the most embarrassing and shameful things a parent could endure," the neutral youth snapped.

Zetta could feel everyone's eyes on him. In the corner of his eye, he saw that a few were staring with their mouths open. And he had a good guess that quite a few of the students were sharing similar expressions.

Both Eva and Damien stared at the sable-haired boy in total shock. Then their faces twisted into hateful and ferocious looks.

"So, you talk big huh? Well I bet you don't have the attitude to back it up!" Damien said nastily.

"You're one to talk considering how you were so cowardly, you wrote garbage about your former classmates and teachers out of spite," Zettabyte continued to challenge. "Tell me, how long did you deny your crimes? Did you try to frame an innocent? Did you even have an ounce of remorse?"

Damien's teeth clenched in rage and his hands balled into fists, as though preparing to strike his foe. However, he just continued to glare at the newcomer who dared to oppose him. His girlfriend glared with the same amount of hatred before a malicious smile appeared on her face.

"You really want to prove how macho you are?" Eva challenged spitefully. "How about this; tomorrow night. We head over to The Ditch."

The mechling-turned-human teen raised a brow as he heard everyone around him, excluding Sasha and the two intruders, gasp in apprehension.

"The Ditch?" the sable-haired boy said in question.

Sierra immediately came forward, "It's the name of the Ditch where the car that held Kyle Korman resides."

"We meet there tomorrow night. You and me. Sit in that car for awhile. First one to get out loses. You win, we leave you and these losers alone," Damien snidely explained as he gestured to everyone around them. "I win…well, I'm sure I'll think up something good."

The air felt chilly. Far more chilly than any Autumn weather Jasper had to offer. Some students were whispering silently in fear as others directed their gaze onto Zettabyte, shaking their heads no pleadingly as though it would stop him from answering with confirmation.

However, the sable-haired boy did not heed or minded them as he replied, "Fine."

Eva smiled cruelly in satisfaction as she sneered, "See you tomorrow at eight."

With that, the two intruders walked to their car and as they got in, Damien gave "Zeke" one final dirty look as he got into the driver's seat and drove away.

Everyone's eyes were still on Sasha's "cousin."

* * *

 _At the Autobot base_

"I can't believe that Miko's classmates think I'm some sort of criminal!" Bulkhead sputtered.

The Wrecker had been carrying on like this since Miko's call. It would be an understatement to say that he was shocked by what he charge told him.

"You can't really blame them Bulkhead. Those other human youths may not be aware of our war, but that doesn't mean they can't sense when something's seriously amiss and perceive it as illegal activity," Ratchet muttered, having had enough of the moss mech's ranting.

"What?! You're agreeing with them?!" the former construction mech snapped.

"I'm not agreeing with them. I'm only saying that our interactions with the Cons while with our holoforms when we're in our vehicle modes can be mistaken for violent altercations that mimic Earth gang behavior. Hence why the children's peers may fear us despite knowing nothing of our species or the war," the medic said, managing to avoid gritting his denta in aggravation.

"It's not just what she told me but the fact that she was told by some new kid at the school. He even gave her the idea to tell me to stay away from the school for a bit," Bulkhead grumbled.

"What new kid?" the older mech asked off-handedly, only a little bit curious.

"I don't know. Some relative of Sasha's who's visiting," the Autobot brawler shrugged. "The kids told us that Sasha hasn't said anything about Zetta contacting her or not."

"Mrs. Darby did say that Zetta alerted Sasha that she would not be able to contact before he left," the veteran Autobot replied.

A few minutes later, the medic's communication link began beeping, signaling that he was being contacted by one of his teammates or his leader.

"Yes, what is it?" Ratchet asked a she activated the comm.

[Ratchet, we require you to bridge us back immediately,] came Optimus' tone, calm but with an urgent undertone.

Ratchet obeyed without question as he found their location and, with a few clicks on the console, the Groundbridge opened. The two Autobots were greeted with the appearances of their Prime and teammates' vehicle modes. Once the Groundbridge was shut down, all three transformers into their bi-pedal modes.

"What happened? You three were only out for half an hour," the red and white mech inquired.

"We were being stalked by Soundwave's little spy," Arcee grumbled.

"Lazerbeak," Ratchet muttered in understanding. "What did he do?"

 **[That's just it. He didn't do anything. Just followed us,]** the young scout explained.

"Probably trying to see if he could sneak up on you and shoot you just for fun," the Wrecker growled.

"Or the could've trying to corner us for an ambush," Arcee speculated suspiciously.

"He could've also been trying to discover where our base is," Optimus stated thoughtfully. "It would seem that they still believe that we are holding Zettabyte."

 **[But we don't have him!]** Bumblebee exclaimed with exasperation. **[We're still looking for him ourselves!]**

"Kid, you really think they care?" Bulkhead asked rhetorically.

"Even if we did tell them that we do not have that mechling within our custody, it is more than likely that they wouldn't believe us," the old medic muttered logically.

"Well, where is he then?!" the sole femme blurted out angrily, choking as though she was about to cry. "If he's not with them and he's not with us and he's not with Sasha then where is he?! WHERE?!"

Everyone, excluding Optimus who seemed more concern than shocked, was taken aback by the femme's outburst. She had never expressed such raw emotions except when she was in battle. And even then those emotions did not come close to the ones she was displaying now. The fear and anger she was emitting was so palpable you could cut through it with an Energon blade.

Optimus had seen this behavior before, specifically among soldiers who saw the younger ones as something akin to surrogate offspring. He did, however, sense that it was much more than just maternal instinct. Yet he knew better than to pry right now.

"Arcee, we will find him. That is our top priority," the former archivist said soothingly. "But if the Decepticons are becoming bold in attempting to locate our base, then we must be careful."

Arcee stared hard at her leader for a moment before nodding and stomping off, but not before saying, "I just wish I knew whether or not he was functioning."

"So do we," Optimus said quietly.

Bumblebee just bowed his head sadly while Ratchet and Bulkhead remained silent.

* * *

 _At Sasha's house_

"Okay, everything is ready," Sasha said as she put the vegan chocolate peanut butter brownies and orange ice tea on the table in the large dining room. "I've already made the pizza call. Pepperoni for them and olives and green peppers for us."

While Jack and Raf themselves did not need tutoring, they decided to tag along so they could converse with "Zeke" and make sure Miko didn't start trouble. All three would be dropped off by their respective parents, host parents in the Asian girls' case. There was an agreement that they would come to pick them up at eight after the PTA meeting ended. Both dark-haired teens had also gotten the okay to feed their guests. Knowing that the three would want something a little meaty is what made the Goth choose to order a pizza.

"Alright," Zettabyte nodded at her with a smile as he organized the required material for the tutoring.

Midnight purred as she rubbed against both teens' legs before washing her face. A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang. This prompted the feline to bolt towards the living room

"I'll get it!" the mechling-turned-human teen said as he headed for the door and opened it.

Just as he suspected, it was none other than the trio of friends. All three wore pleasant smiles and had their backpacks with them, establishing the purpose of what they were here to do.

"Hey guys, come in," the sable-haired teen said politely in a friendly voice with a smile to match.

The three gladly obliged and entered, trading smiles and greetings of their own with their host. Though the neutral youth did wonder why Miko locked gazes with him for so long. However, he brushed it off as nothing and went to go join them.

As they all sat down and began studying, Raf spoke up, "It was really awesome that you stood up for us against Damien and Eva."

"Yeah, you really tore into them," Miko piped up.

"I don't think anyone at our school has hit a nerve like you did," Jack added.

"It wasn't a big deal. I've had to watch my mother deal with their kind before so I know that words do a lot more damage than physical blows or their shady social media tricks," "Zeke" explained.

"That is smart," the young brunette said before tentatively asking. "Are you still going through with the dare?"

"Well, I don't see why not. When it's revealed that there's no ghost and they've been fooling themselves, it'll hopefully knock them down from their thrones," Zetta said firmly. "People like them deserve it."

"You know it!" the foreign exchange student nodded excitedly. "If anything, it will be awesome if they wet their pants when they here the noise coming from the trunk."

"Miko, he just said that he's gonna prove there's no ghost," the onyx-haired boy sighed. "Even if there is a noise, I'm sure it'll be due to a logical reason."

"Exactly," "Zeke" nodded don't he was feeling guilty on the inside.

He felt awful about lying to them but what could he do? Tell them the truth? Expect them to keep this a secret from Ms. Darby and the Autobots? He couldn't make him do that? But how much longer would it be before Nephilus and the others found a way to turn him back? Was anyone from either faction looking for him? Now that was a very concerning. What if they were looking for him? How were they going about it? Was anyone getting hurt? He suddenly felt sick.

"Hey, Zeke? Dude? Are you okay? You're looking pale," the Asian girl prodded gently.

"I-I'm fine! Just thinking about…," Zettabyte started as he tried thinking of an excuse before his eyes landed of a photo on the wall. "My parents! Yeah, they told me they were going to call me this evening but they haven' yet. And after that earthquake yesterday, I'm worried."

"I know how that feels. I mean, worrying about your parents," Jack replied with a nod and smile, though the mechling-turned-human teen could see something behind that smile.

Was it...sadness?

Before the sable-haired boy could speculate more, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Sounds like the pizza's here," Sasha spoke up as she got out of her seat to go open the door.

She was proven right when she opened it to reveal a college-aged girl holding two large square boxes. As Sasha prepared to pay, Jack came up to stand beside her, wallet in hand.

"Here, let me help pay for those," Jack kindly offered as he began to take money out of his wallet.

"Oh no, you guys are the guest. Therefore, it is my job to pay for this," Sasha politely declined.

"And you guys have already provided everything else, so at least let me pay for the pizza," the obsidian-haired insisted kindly as he took out some money.

Neither noticed a piece of paper fall out of the junior's wallet and flutter to the ground behind the two debating teens. Zetta, however, did. Getting up from his seat, he strode over and plucked the paper up and found that it was quite old. He turned it over to discover that it wasn't just any ordinary paper but a photograph. The photo displayed a young obsidian-haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties and a young boy with onyx hair and eye color who looked like he was around nine or ten years old, both smiling happily. The woman had her hair down and wore a sky blue dress while the boy had ruffled hair and wore denim shorts and a green shirt with an orange raptor on it. It only took the mechling-turned-human teen a moment to realize that the photo was that of a younger Jack and June.

But that's what caught his attention.

Beside the younger June was a man who Zettabyte didn't recognize. He looked like an adult version of Jack except he had warm brown eyes instead of blue, a pair of burgundy full-rim glasses, and just the slightest hint of stubble on his face. He was wearing a clean white button up shirt and dark gray jeans and was grinning just as much as the other two. Behind the three humans was a wide expanse of grass and large lake. Beneath the picture, in a white space was some writing. It read; _A Day Out on the Lake_.

Meanwhile, the Goth and the fast food worker decided to pay half and half. After finally paying the delivery girl, who had been watching the banter with an amused look before getting her payment and a large tip courtesy of the nature-lover, they finally had their pizza. Upon turning around, they saw the sable-haired teen still staring at the photo.

"Hey Zeke, whatcha got-?" Jack began asking but stopped when he saw what it was, face paling and eyes widening.

The raven-haired girl turned to look at the photo as well, expression of curiosity turning to one of shock when she got a good look of the people within the picture. However, unlike her "cousin", she wasn't able to look at it for long because Jack quickly plucked it from the sable-haired boy's hand. They both looked to see that the only Darby child had quickly tucked the photo back into his wallet and quickly strode back to where Miko and Raf were waiting, playing with Midnight as they did so.

The neutral youth just traded a uncomfortable look with his partner.

* * *

 _Half an hour later_

Despite the tense awkwardness that took place when Jack saw that Sasha's cousin was in possession of the most likely private picture, the evening lightened up. Along with talking in case they needed help, they also joked and talked while munching on pizza and brownies. As everyone did their homework, "Zeke" helped Miko out with hers. It took all Jack and Raf had not to let their jaws drop as they watched their normally rowdy friend watch and listen to Sasha's "cousin" carefully. Normally, when the Asian girl was being tutored, she would be nodding off or her attention would be drifting towards something else which led to her missing her tutor's instructions.

Yet here she was, perfectly focused on what her new tutor was showing her. Other than stopping for a moment to take a bite of food or sip her ice tea, she was very focused. It was almost as if he was the sole focus of her own little world. They only hoped that what he was teaching her would stick in said little world when it was over. As she neared completing her homework, she took a sip of her drink only to find that there was one ice as she had finished it.

Seeing this immediately, Zetta gently took her glass, saying, "Let me refill that for you. Anyone else?"

When Raf politely held up his own empty glass, Jack stepped in and took it, turning to the sable-haired teen and saying, "I'll help you."

After the mechling-turned-human teen nodded in gratitude, the two dark-haired teen boys ventured into the kitchen. While Jack set the empty glasses on the counter, Zee went to refrigerator to fetch the pitcher of orange ice tea.

"You're doing pretty good with Miko," the junior teen spoke up. "I don't think she even gives the teachers or their lessons that much attention or focus."

"I just do what I can to help others out," Zetta said humbly as he grabbed the pitcher and brought it over to the counter and began pouring it into the glasses.

As the sable-haired boy finished, a familiar body of black fur suddenly appeared and began rubbing herself against the legs of the two male teenagers. Giving her a quick pet, "Zeke" returned the pitcher to the fridge.

Closing the door, he suddenly said, "Look, I'm sorry about looking at that picture earlier. I never meant to invade another's privacy."

"It's alright. It's my fault to for letting it fall out of my wallet and not seeing that it fell," Jack quickly forgave.

A moment of silence passed before Zettabyte spoke, "Who was that man? In the picture, I mean."

The onyx-haired boy bit his lip and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them and saying, "The man was my dad, Arthur Darby."

"Oh! Well, he seems nice! I haven't seen him though. Is he away on business or-," the neutral youth's sentence died when he saw the dark look on Jack's face and realized the answer. "Oh."

"Yeah," the Darby child said solemnly.

Another second of quiet passed before "Zeke" spoke again, "How long?"

"It's been a little over five years since he passed away," Jack admitted,

"I'm sorry," the sable-haired boy responded sincerely. "How did he pass?"

Suddenly, a look mixed between grief and hate flashed across Jack's eyes, though it was not directed at the other teen, before he spoke, "I'm not sure you could call it an accident…considering that the person who initiated the accident did it on purpose."

Zettabyte stared in horror at the fast food employee before gulping and saying sympathetically, "You know, I understand if you don't want to-"

But the other boy shook his head, cutting him off as he said, "No, it's okay. I…need to get this off my chest."

Zee stood straight and looked at his friend and temporary classmate, ready to listen.

"My parents both moved to and did their medical training in Arlington, Virginia. My mom was from Boston, Massachusetts and my dad was from Minneapolis, Minnesota. My mom was training to be a nurse and my dad was training to become an EMT," Jack explained. "They ended up working at the same hospital and met when my dad brought in a guy who had been hit by a speeding vehicle and my mom helped take him to the operating table. They got together to have coffee and talked. Soon it led to them hanging out, then dating, then getting married, and then having me."

The mechling-turned-human teen nodded to show he was listening.

"Everyone said they were an awesome team and couple. My paternal grandma said it was like destiny had set them up," the junior teen smiled nostalgically. "They were the most well-liked in the hospital. And for good reason. There was no patient or visitor who they couldn't soothe or brighten. My mom had a strict but fair bedside and would sometimes let patients and visitors get away with small things allowing the visitors to bring them hospitalized friend or family member some treats."

"And your dad?" the neutral youth couldn't help but ask.

The nostalgia in Jack's eyes took on a bittersweet hint as he continued, "He was always making kids, patient or visitor, laugh and smile. Sometimes if the visitors didn't have enough money for food, he would use the money out of his own pocket to get them food or he would use the hospital cafeteria to make it. But I think what everyone liked the most about my parents is that they weren't bias. I'm not saying the rest of the staff was but my aunt said my parents gave a new meaning to the word 'open-minded.'"

The sable-haired teen leaned in expectantly.

"They didn't care about disabilities, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or anything. They just wanted to help. My mom still does all of that," the only Darby child said proudly before his smile fell. "I guess another thing that upsets that there are so many people who will never get to meet such a great man or experience the kind things he does."

Zee knew where this was heading.

"You're probably aware that not every criminal is some ski-mask wearing thug with a gun or bully in gang clothing waiting behind the corner," the fast food employee said somberly. "And if they're the kind who puts on a façade for the public only to take it off in the confines of their own home…well…that's even worse."

It was so quiet that Zettabyte could hear the soft padding of Midnight's paws as the black cat exited the kitchen.

"Dick Ramsey was the classic example. And the most severe one," the onyx-haired boy said, not bothering to cover the malice in his tone. "Everyone thought he was a nice guy. Worked for some fancy engineer company or whatever. Always smiling and polite. Had a wife and three kids plus one on the way. No one ever suspected it until…it happened."

"What?" the neutral youth dared to ask.

"Someone at his work claimed they saw him taking money. They didn't even give him a chance to explain, from what I heard. Just fired him on the spot," Jack stated. "That night, the babysitter cancelled so my parents had to take me with them. I was doing my homework in the staff lunchroom when I heard my mom talking to someone outside. Then I heard a woman crying. It wasn't unusual for my mom to be soothing a hysterical woman but I recognized the voice. And what I saw confirmed it."

"Who was it?" the mechling-turned-human teen asked, though he knew the answer.

"It was Mrs. Ramsey. I thought something had happened like maybe something was wrong with her baby, one of her kids, or her husband. I later found out that the second guess was right," the junior teen took a breath and said. "Her middle child fell down the stairs and got a broken shoulder and a nasty cut to the head."

"Let me guess; it was no accident," Zee said, making it sound more like a statement than a questioning guess.

"Right. Turns out that Ramsey got drunk that night and came home with bad temper. He was taking out on his wife and the kid tried to stop him which led Ramsey to pushing him down the stairs," Jack's face took on a pale shade as he recalled that night. "They only got away because she took a lamp to her husband's head. I would later find out that it wasn't the first time he used violence but it was the first time he had been drunk while doing it and the first time he physically abused one of his kids."

"So what happened?" morbid curiosity kept Zetta's attention in check.

"It wasn't hard for my parents to convince her to press charges against him and get a restraining order alongside some divorce papers," the Darby boy continued. "And the commotion drew the neighbor's attention. Couple that with him being fired and some people who claimed to have seen bruises on Mrs. Ramsey and moments of her kids acting up before and the police took her side. Of course it helped that my dad had a friend who was a cop. With his secret out and a lawyer with as much credibility as a 2-year-old who was prone to having a twisted imagination, the courts ruled in her favor. Everything should have ended there."

"But it didn't," the neutral youth replied knowingly.

Jack nodded gravely, "Ramsey got it into his sick-head that if his family wouldn't live with him…then they wouldn't live at all."

"Zeke" nearly fell onto his back, looking like he had been shot.

"He found out the name of the motel his wife and kids were in. You'd be surprised how a man with his mug in the papers can easily acquire some gasoline and matches. Of course, he also forgot that fire can spread. Thankfully, he didn't get far as my dad's cop friend arrived to watch the motel. She called my parents and the fire department. They had gotten most of the people out, including Mrs. Ramsey, now known as Ms. Hansen, and her children. However, a young girl was trapped in one of the upper rooms," at this point the onyx-haired boy was shaking a bit. "And I'll give you one good guess as to who raced up the stairs and into the room to save her."

"Your father," the sable-haired teen breathed in shock and horror.

Jack nodded, still shaking, "He managed to get her out unscathed. But he himself…had major injuries. The most major one was a third-degree burn on his back. My mom and I thought he would pull through…like he always did…"

The Zetta felt sickness and pity well up in heart as he saw pricks of tears in his friend's eyes.

"He died three days later. Ramsey was sentenced 30 to life in prison," the other teen boy managed out. "Our friends, family, and neighbors helped us out the best way they could. I just wished they had done so without hurting others."

"What do you mean?" Zettabyte asked in confusion.

"Ramsey had three other siblings. A twin brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister. Everyone turned on them. They thought that they secretly knew about his abusing his family and lied about it. Some even say think that they helped with the fire," Jack whispered. "Their friends and co-workers avoided them like the plague. They were no longer invited to parties or events. Even the people at our church suspected they were guilty. It got so bad that they all three of them had to move."

"And it failed to make you feel better?" the sable-haired boy inquired.

The junior teen nodded, "No amount of condolences or casseroles was ever gonna bring my father back. But what was worse was that what they were doing was the exact opposite of what he would've wanted. To move and continue respecting people without bias or judgement. So to get away from all the negativity, my mom moved us here."

"And how has that been working out for you two?" Zetta asked gently.

"So far, it's been okay. I mean, we both miss him but we've been getting through it," Jack answered.

 _Though I'm not sure that getting involved in a war between alien robots has helped,_ the Darby child inwardly winced to himself.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Your father sounds like a great man and I would've felt very blessed to meet him," Zettabyte uttered sincerely, looking the fast food employee in the eyes.

For the first time since he began talking, the onyx-haired boy smiled and said to his classmate in a grateful tone, "Thank you."

Before "Zeke" could say anything, they heard a frantic and annoyed muttering from the dining hall. They both shared an odd look and returned to the room to see what was happening. The two teen boys were surprised and worried when they found their friends looking a bit frantically through their backpacks, textbooks, folders, and other papers on the table.

"What's going on?" the mechling-turned-human teen asked, looking rather alarmed and confused.

"Miko can't find her extra credit packet or study guide," the preteen brunette explained before turning to his older female classmate. "Where did you last see it?"

The Asian girl stopped rummaging through her backpack for a moment and thoughts. Ever so slowly, her eyes widened in realization and her palm met her forehead with a harsh slap.

"I left them in my locker," she whimpered in aggravation.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Sasha sighed in exasperation.

"Well, this is an inconvenience," the neutral youth began calmly. "But it's not an unfixable situation. We just need to head back to school, retrieve the papers from Miko's locker, and hurry right back. Thanks to the PTA meeting, the doors should be unlocked so that won't be a problem."

"But what about all the teachers and parents? I mean, what if someone catches us? Kids aren't exactly allowed at PTA meetings," Raf piped up worriedly. "We might get in trouble if we're seen there and one of the parents or staff thinks we're up to something."

"Not to mention that Ms. Darby, the Sandersons, and the Esquivels won't be happy if they arrive early and find all of us gone," the raven-haired girl put in logically.

"That's why only two of us are going," Zee explained. "And I think it should be Sasha and I."

Before anyone could object, his "cousin" added, "That's not a bad idea. Zeke and I are new students so if we got caught, we might get off with more lenience. And if your parents do come to get you early, you can lie and say we're in the bathroom, garage, or something like that."

All three of Team Prime's human charges looked at each other, debating on what to do, before nodding.

"Zeke" nodded with satisfaction as he said, "Good. Now what's the locker combination?"

* * *

 _In the auditorium_

June calmly tapped her hand on her lap as she listened to the coach talk about new necessities for gym class. Truth be told, something else was on her mind. Or rather someone else.

Zettabyte's disappearance was still on her mind. Several times these past few days, as she was driving to and from work, she could've sworn she saw that familiar looking red and blue alt. mode of his only to realize it was an ordinary car. It was funny how in such a short amount of time, she had come to care for Zetta as much as she cared for her son and his friends. While she tried to play it off as her duty as a nurse to care about the welfare of young people, even if they were giant alien robots, she knew it was much more than that.

She had begun to see Zetta as something akin to a foster child. Despite his being somewhat involved in the war, he seemed to have a healthy body and psych, not unlike Jack. Yes, the same thing could be said about Bumblebee, even though she had no idea what he was saying without Raf's help, but the ruby and sapphire mechling was different. He cared not for joining either of the factions or gaining victory. In fact, his interests centered more around Earth, being more focused on human society and culture above all.

Not to mention that his goodness and intelligence were quite admirable. In fact, some of Zetta's demeanors reminded her of Jack and his fa-

June blinked as she felt her eyes grow wet and quickly blinked away the droplets that were evidence of her bittersweet nostalgia, wiping her eyes with some soft tissue.

That was in the past. Nothing would bring Arthur back. All she could do was keep moving on like he would have wanted. And she felt that she was just doing that with her focus on her son, his friends, and Zettabyte, who she was praying would be found safe and sound. Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by the sound of soft clapping and murmurs as the coach finished what he was saying. Suddenly, the roar of barely suppressed groans riffled through the crowd as none other than Corrine Barker appeared on stage. The nurse looked at the faculty members standing nearby and it looked like they shared the same sentiment as the parents about the invasive woman.

Corrine, who was wearing a burgundy business suit, either hadn't heard or ignored the groans as she began, "Fellow parents, as you all know, in spite of yesterday's unexpected tremor, the bake sale was quite a success. And while I'm aware that the teachers wish to use the money for some sensible things, such as fixing the broken light and getting more safety measures, I believe that there are other significant uses for the money."

Despite their apprehension, all the parents, including June, leaned forward in anticipation.

"I've been in touch with several companies and they said, for a fair cost plus some interest, provided everyone get on board, we can afford some lovely uni-," before she could even finish the word, a row of angry grunts, groans, and shouts of displeasure interrupted her.

"Oh no, it's the whole school uniform proposal again," a man on June's right grumbled.

She turned to see that the grumble had come from Cedric Cross who was sitting with his wife, Delilah. The Darby matriarch knew them well as their daughter, Sierra, was Jack's classmate and crush. Something her son told her not too long after he met her in freshman year. Cedric had a sturdy build and shared the same light auburn hair color as his daughter and had brown eyes while Delilah shared her daughter's looks and green eyes while sporting brown hair.

Corrine, having heard the man's grumble, gave him a stern gaze and began, "I know that there may be those of your who don't think highly of this idea but I must implore you to consider how having uniforms could steer the children away from engaging in any illegal behavior."

"Oh, so now you're saying that just because our kids don't where fancy clothes that look the same means that they're gonna become criminals, despite how we raised them?" Jennifer Storm demanded from where she sat in the back, an angry scowl on her face.

"That is not what I was trying to say," the middle-aged woman began, managing to keep a calm face though her tone and eyes showed her alarm as she knew she was losing control of the situation.

"Well, it certainly sounds like that's your saying," snapped Anna Brody, the mother of Sierra's friend, Isabella.

Just like her daughter, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her husband, Ivan Brody, had blue eyes as well but sported dark brown hair and glasses.

"Where do you come off trying to control what the school does with the money which was thanks to the students' hard work at the bakery?" challenged another mother. "And don't say you helped contribute. Your cookies didn't even earn a penny!"

"Ladies and gentleman, let's all not get ourselves aggravated," Principal Franklin spoke up calmly but firmly, her gaze cool and unalarmed.

However, she may as well as have been speaking to an empty room as no one seemed to heed her claim, their eyes focused on the woman at the front of them who was challenging their stares with her own.

"Well, I couldn't help it that the sugary concoctions that your children brought blinded people from seeing my nutritious offerings," the dark-haired woman barked in defense.

"It was a bake sale! What else were we suppose to sell? Socks?!" Ms. Kissaryn jumped up and snapped. "And for your information, we did have healthy options. Gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, nut-free, low-sugar, and even some that contained vegetables and fruit!"

"Yes, but I highly doubt you understand-," Corrine began, her voice faltering a bit.

"That's all we ever hear out of you," came the angry voice of Vince's father, Brett Jamieson, who stood up from where he sat with his wife, Jeana. "All you ever say is that we're not raising our children right or that our school isn't functioning correctly."

Brett had light brown hair and brown eyes while his wife had red hair and green eyes. Both were staring at Ms. Barker angrily. While June was quite aware of their son's misbehavior and bullying the other students, including her son, she knew that they had a point. Since the single mother had arrived, all she had ever seen out of Corrine was her self-important behavior and "my way is the right way" speeches. The obsidian-haired woman might have called it narcissism except she could've sworn that it looked like…envy. But why? And about what?

As the middle-aged, dark-haired woman huffed and stomped back to her seat, muttering something about no one having respect for individual ideals, a quiet figure in the back slunk out of the auditorium.

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

Sasha and Zetta didn't bother to take off their helmets as they jumped off her bike and hurried inside. Sasha's hand clenched a piece of paper that Miko had given her, her locker number and lock combination written on it. As quietly and as quickly as they could, the two dark-haired teens hurried down the halls before stopping before the Asian girl's locker.

"Alright, here it is," the Goth said in a hushed tone, taking out her phone and opening the folded paper. "Keep watch, alright?"

"Gotcha!" "Zeke" nodded as he turned away and repeatedly looked back and forth as the locker was in the middle of the line of lockers.

Carefully turning the knob to the correct numbers, the raven-haired girl felt a surge of triumph as she succeeded in opening the locker. She paid no mind to how messy it was with colored pencils, small posters, drawings, and other miscellany, both educational and non-educational, as she spotted the papers in question and quickly grabbed them before gently closing the locker.

"You got them?" the neutral youth asked as he turned towards her.

"Yeah! Now, let's-," the nature-lover was cut off as they heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Someone's coming!" Zettabyte hissed as his partner quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward and around the corner, opposite of where the footsteps were coming from.

Pressing themselves to the wall, the mechling-turned-human teen took the initiative of peaking around the corner. To his surprise, he saw a woman. But not just any woman. It was the woman who he saw talking on the phone at the diner not that long ago. She was texting on her phone, thankfully, not noticing that she was being watched. He saw her stop texting a moment before her phone gave a ping, indicating her message had been replied to. A sad but loving smile formed on her lips before she texted back. It went like this for two or three minutes before she put her phone away.

Just as she was about to walk away, footsteps from where she had come from sounded throughout the empty and somewhat dark hall. The woman twisted around to face whoever was approaching. The sound of a familiar voice muttering found its way alongside the footsteps as well. A second later, Corrine Barker appeared, looking annoyed and only slightly put down.

"Lousy, interruptive bunch of-," she grumbled, looking at the floor before looking up and seeing the other woman saying in a flat, unimpressed tone. "Oh, it's just you. What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Corrine," the other woman commented in a similar, unamused tone. "I was just here to check out the school a bit. You know, for nostalgia' sake."

"Ah yes, high school memories of when your clique ran things," the dark-haired woman said snidely. "How is everyone?"

The other woman stiffened a moment, before saying somberly, "Stacia passed away. But everyone else is still alive."

"Yes, I heard about that. My condolences," Ms. Barker said without any hint of sympathy. "Though, look at the bright side. One less person who'll let your dirty little secret slip."

"Excuse me?" the other woman said in utter shock. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, don't give me that Quinn Dawson!" Corrine snapped. "Your parents may have done everything they could to hide it by sending you to go stay at your wealthy aunt and uncle's. They told everyone that you had been accepted to a prestigious boarding school for a semester but we all knew the truth. No one may have had any proof but we all knew."

The other woman, Quinn Dawson's, face slowly changed from pale to a light cherry red.

"How is that daughter of yours by the way?" the dark-haired woman asked in a snarky tone.

"Claire is doing just fine. She's getting As and Bs," Quinn said boldly. "And at least I got to raise her."

Now it was Corrine's turn to look shocked and offended, "I beg your pardon?"

"I didn't marry a man who left me for a younger woman when my child was two-years-old. And I didn't have to deal with lawyers and Child Services because I left them with an irresponsible and careless teen who allowed them to go in the streets while I went to go hang out with friends like some spoiled teenager," the blonde woman snapped hotly. "I actually get to see my child. I'm not the one who lost full custody and hasn't seen them in more than fifteen years!"

Corrine just stood there as Quinn briskly walked around her back where she had come from. The middle-aged woman stood there a moment before she too, disappeared, walking away from where the two students were hidden.

The sable-haired boy turned and found that the raven-haired girl had been spying as well. They both locked eyes as they traded looks of confusion and shock, as though one of them had the answer, or at least a guess, of what happened.

Of course, neither did.

Finally, after all this time, another chapter is up. I apologize for the ling wait, I was preoccupied over the summer and school has kept me busy. But rest assured that I will get back on track. I would like to give a special thanks to AllSpark Princess for her idea in this chapter revolving around the idea of Bulkhead being told to stay back. I promise to start uploading chapters more frequently again.

Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


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